Employee Spotlight: Get to Know the Team
Iain Avis
Environmental Compliance Consultant
Meet Iain Avis, Environmental Compliance Consultant, a 2021 addition to our Blue Heron Environmental team.
Mr. Avis joined Blue Heron Environmental in June 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Environmental Science with a specialization in Ecology from the University of Waterloo.
Mr. Avis has been working in the environmental and resource-based industries since 2016.
We asked Iain Avis to answer a few questions to help our clients get to know him better.
We continue to share the stories of the remarkable additions to our hard-working team at Blue Heron Environmental (BHE). In the past couple of years, we've hired a number of new professionals to help reach new heights for our business.
To introduce these new Blue Heron members, we thought we'd sit down and ask them a few questions about their professional career (and a few personal ones too).
Join us in welcoming Iain to the team!
HOW DID YOU FIRST LEARN ABOUT BLUE HERON ENVIRONMENTAL?
During my first co-op at a mine in 2012, some of my coworkers in the environmental department were Blue Heron alumni, however it wasn’t until working for a Gold Mine in 2019 that I got to collaborate with Blue Heron directly.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEING AN ENVIRONMENTAL Compliance Consultant?
Removing valuable minerals out of the earth and refining them into materials that are actually usable is tough, complicated work.
From geochemistry, construction management, chemical engineering and biological monitoring, there are many technical aspects to mining, and as an Environmental Compliance Consultant, I get exposed to many of them. It makes for interesting work, and each new project teaches you so much.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
My first job as a teen was as a dishwasher in an Italian restaurant. My first environmental job was as a summer student at an engineering firm dealing with contaminated sites.
IF YOU COULD PICK UP ANY NEW SKILL IN AN INSTANT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I’d learn French. I was not a fan of French class in school, but my teacher Madame Nichole was right - it’s really useful.
GOT ANY FAVORITE QUOTES?
“As time goes by in this give and take,
As long as I learn I will make mistakes”
-Just A Test, by the Beastie Boys off their album “Hello Nasty”
WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO IN THE NEXT YEAR THAT YOU’VE NEVER DONE BEFORE?
#1 Go hunting. I’ve had my PAL (gun license) for years now, but it was frowned upon by a previous partner – so now’s my chance to try it!
#2 Start gardening. I live in an apartment, so it may be a bit difficult, but the idea of growing my own food is very attractive to me.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE YOU’VE EVER VISITED?
We drove out west last year from Sudbury and this was one of our most memorable stops. The wildlife we saw was incredible – grizzlies, stone sheep, wood bison, caribou, wolves, you name it!
DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING?
North Cascades National Park in Washington state. It was the hardest hiking that I’ve ever done, but every painful meter of altitude was worth it. The cute marmots alone justify a visit.