Blue Heron managing organic growth: environmental solutions firm sees groundbreaking 2009.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: TIMMINS

Timmins environmental solutions firm Blue Heron is preparing for growth in 2010 after a busy 2009 which saw the addition of a new facility, new product supply, and a new strategic alliance with international engineering giant Golder Associates.

"It's busy and it's ballooning," says Linda Byron-Fortin, owner of Blue Heron.

"All this has happened in the last 12 months, and we're continuing to grow."

While Golder Associates had long held a Timmins office, the general lack of experienced environmental scientists in Northern Ontario meant that senior staff were running it from the Sudbury location. As such, Golder had previously discussed bringing Blue Heron into the fold, which never held any appeal for Byron-Fortin, who treasures the company's distinct identity.

However, when a strategic alliance was offered in June 2009 which allowed Blue Heron to preserve its individuality, Byron-Fortin accepted.

The agreement has moved Golder's offices into Blue Heron, which now acts as the face of Golder in Timmins.

As a result, Golder must offer Blue Heron the opportunity to be involved in any environmental mining work north of Sudbury and across all of Northern Ontario; in exchange, Golder will be offered the first right of refusal to handle any overflow or extra work Blue Heron cannot manage.

While some smaller juniors prefer the familiarity of Blue Heron, others prefer the comfort of a "big name" like Golder, says Byron-Fortin. With this arrangement, both will flow through Blue Heron's doors.

Over the last year, staffing has remained static at 10 employees. Expectations are that this number will grow as work increases through the Golder alliance, and more nickel and copper junior exploration firms begin to seek baseline studies for their properties.

The alliance also provides engineering support to Blue Heron, filling a distinct knowledge gap in the organization following the amicable departure of co-founder Colin Webster in October 2009.

Webster, who took a "dream job" with Goldcorp as director of community relations and Aboriginal affairs, also helped lay some of the foundations for some of Blue Heron's other big initiatives. These include training and mentorship programs for First Nations communities, providing them sufficient technical expertise to analyze documents presented to them for approval by mining companies.

In exchange, Blue Heron officials hope to learn about their traditional ecological knowledge and what their dominant concerns are. In...