The Tree Planters, photographed in the remote Canadian
wilderness, is a series of un-staged action/sports portraits of
the men and women who are reforesting Canada one tree at a
time. Canadian tree planting is unique in the world. It is back-
breaking, piece-work paid labour — a hybrid combination of
high intensity sport and industrial labour that requires technical
finesse and remarkable physical and mental endurance. Most
people are surprised to learn that an experienced worker can
plant over 2,000 trees in a single day. Photographer Rita Leistner
set out to create heroic portraits of tree planters as a way of
bringing to light to the future of the world’s forests by focusing
on forest workers in the aftermath of logging. Rita herself
planted over a half a million trees from 1984 to 1993.
Rita Leistner is an award-winning artist, photo-documentarian, photo-historian, lecturer, author, filmmaker and former war photographer whose photography and writing have been disseminated widely through books, magazines, exhibitions and collections. She is currently immersed in a long-term personal project that includes an exhibition and a book, The Tree Planters, and a film, Forest for the Trees. Rita is represented by the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto.
Awards Finalist Robert Gardner Fellowship in Photography, Harvard University
Three Canadian National Magazine Awards Gold Medals
PX3 Portrait Prize 3rd Place
World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Award 2nd Prize
Finalist Marshall McLuhan Award in Media Ecology
