From part-time job to full-time job: Timmins company observes environmental changes in mining

TIMMINS – When Linda Byron started in the mining industry, environmental concerns were not at the top of her priority list.

Now, 20 years after opening Blue Heron Environmental, she says the industry has completely changed.

“When I started, environmental was more of a side job. It was a side job to safety or ventilation, not a full-time job. You couldn't even take it in school,” said Byron. “But now companies like Côté Gold have teams of 10, 15 environmental experts because it's just front and center.”

Blue Heron primarily provides environmental services to the mining sector, including environmental management services, assessments and spill management.

The company employs 43 people and has offices in Timmins, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Red Lake and Sault Ste. Marie, as well as support staff in the Toronto and Ottawa areas.

“I couldn't have done this if we didn't have the tools we have today for remote work,” said Byron. “We're spread across the province.”

She said the shift to remote work during COVID-19 was groundbreaking.

“It just changed our way of thinking about how we run our business and how we can work,” Byron said.

It made sense for Byron to be based in Timmins since she grew up in Iroquois Falls.

“I left for school and then came back,” she said. “My family is here, my parents are here, my children, my siblings, everyone.”

The 20th anniversary celebration is an opportunity to recognize the company's work and growth, as well as the changes that have occurred.

“For me, it's validating,” she said. “I look back and think, 'How did that happen?' It's a little surprising and kind of confirms that I knew what I was doing all along.”

She is very grateful for the support of other companies in the industry.

“The local mining companies call us all the time and it’s nice that something like this exists,” she said.

— TimminsToday