on the summit: Tim Tchida
a sic supporter speaks
“For me, music is a connector. It’s an
in a day.” Recently, he tells me, he brought in a trainer
equalizer.”Tim Tchida is a busy guy, especially in the spring for his crew leaders who taught them about leadership,
when his tree-planting business, Summit Reforestation, through the story of the Shackleton Expedition.
“Ernest Shackleton took the Endurance down
is kicking off in a big way. When we connect over a
to Antarctica with 28 men in 1914,” Tchida explains.
cup of coffee, he’s somewhat frazzled—that is, until
we talk music. Then, suddenly, it seems the weight of “The single hardest example of endurance that I’ve ever
his many responsibilities melts away. We talk for a few read or listened to. All of them survived and it was all
minutes about connection and the essence of music— about his leadership. It was a story that, to me, made tree
vibrations—and eventually get on the subject of how planting seem easy. Yet, we have a saying at Summit that
communication itself is just tone, frequency, and volume. treeplanting makes the rest of your life feel easy.” But
here’s the reason he brings this up: “One of the few things
If music is a set of vibrations and
they allowed on the expedition
a form of communication, then
was a banjo. He made them take
Music is Everything
surely the nature of the tones,
a banjo—he knew the value of
Influences and inspirations
frequencies, and volumes at which
music.” He explains that everyone
we experience music, and the
on the expedition had to be able to
“I would have to pick as my all-time
situations we experience music
sing. Why? Because a connection
most influential band: The The. One
in, play a role in shaping how we
to music was, to Shackleton, a
of my favourite albums is Soul Mining.
feel, how we work, how we play.
character trait directly related to
What I play most when I need that
He mentions Brian Greene’s 1999
an ability to endure. And he was
energy boost is a slower song by the
book on string theory, “The Elegant
right. In the same way, Tchida
band Morcheeba: Part of the Process.”
Universe”. This is the type of thing
recognizes the value of music and
Tim also cites a song he played 1000
that Tchida thinks about, not just
fun in keeping his crews sane. “It
times while playing morning pingwith music, but with everything,
can’t just be about planting.”
pong. It features a Saudi Arabian
treeplanting included. So how do
“When you talk about the
singer, repeating the line: “One day,
you link up planting and music?
philosophical nature of treebaby, we’ll be old, think of all the
Easy. “Soul.”
planting, it’s so much more than
stories we could’ve told.”
“Treeplanting is deeply
just the economic base.” He’s
soulful, as music is,” he says.
had various performers tour the
“We’re putting back. I think when
planting camps every year. “This
we understand that economics can’t be the foundation of
what we do, that choice and soul is the foundation, and year, it’s a girl who used to be a planter. Annie Becker is
economics is just part of that, everything will shift. That’s playing Midsummer Festival this summer and while she’s
what we’re doing. If planting was just about bottom line up here, she’ll head out to camp and play shows for the
and there was no soul, there’s no way we could do what we planters.”
I ask him if he’s changing the world through
do—it’s way too fucking hard. It would be impossible.”To
Tchida, the sense of community, of people, is what is most treeplanting? “No.” He pauses, then adds: “Yes.” He pauses
important about his business. “Music is a big part of camp again, smiling. “We all change the world, with every
life,” he says. “We’re a people business. When people feel choice.
“Tone is everything. Tone is what makes the real
cared for, that’s when you can get 800,000 trees planted
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