Green thumbs run in Kirstin Baron’s family, which was one of two reasons she started her own landscaping business back in 2016.
The other reason? She and her husband needed job stability after Neucel Specialty Cellulose went into curtailment. “It was something I just started doing because my husband was laid off from the Port Alice pulp mill at the time, and we were struggling,” she said, noting having her own small business would also allow her to work around her kids schooling so she wouldn’t have to pay for daycare.
By 2017, Green Baron Landscaping was so busy she started hiring employees. This past summer, she had around nine seasonal employees on the payroll, mainly teenagers looking for work over their school break.
Wonder what Green Baron Landscaping has to offer? The company takes care of weeding, mowing, spring clean-up, pruning, landscaping, yard waste removal, pressure washing, sod, lawn care, and fall clean-up.
Baron was born in Abbotsford, her husband grew up in Port McNeill, and when they were expecting their first child they decided to move to Port McNeill because there were a lot of good job opportunities available in the community at the time.
Baron said she loves living in the town, stating, “I think it’s a great place to raise kids — we have three kids — and I just love the fact that my kids can be relatively safe.”
At last year’s Port McNeill Business and Community Excellence Awards, Baron walked away with the winner of the new business of the year category. “That was a big moment,” she said, “it was actually a goal of mine — so it really brought along validation.”
What’s in the future for Green Baron Landscaping?
“In the future we are going to keep concentrating on what we’re good at — and I’d like to expand, and I think we are going to concentrate on Port Hardy next year,” Baron said.