When people ask Derrick Robinson what he does for work,

he tells them, “I look after Mother Earth. I look after the water,

air, and fish.”

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Officially, he’s an Environmental Technician.

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Robinson, who is from the Haisla First Nation in Northwest BC,

works for Triton Environmental Consultants.

 

“As of March 1, 2019, I’ll have been working for them for eight

years. I can’t believe it’s been that long,” he said. “My family is

really proud of me. They know I’m a hard worker. It’s amazing…”

 

Robinson finds his job fulfilling in so many ways.

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“It’s a lot of exercise. You’re outdoors, doing a lot of walking and hiking,” he said. “It keeps you in good shape.”

 

He especially loves taking new employees under his wing.

 

“The more you work, the more training you get. And the more you know, the more you know what you are doing. You get stronger and stronger,” he said. “I’m teaching myself and I also teach other people. It feels good to look after employees, and your friends and family.”

 

“Triton feels like a family,” he said.

 

Robinson has lived in Kitimaat Village most of his life. He moved to Vancouver for a short stint to work as a landscaper, but the city was too expensive. He returned to the Northwest when his grandfather got sick.

 

At that time, he managed to get a job at Haisla fisheries and worked there for almost three years.

 

“But at the end of the season, it would be closed down until Spring,” he said.

 

So when the Haisla offered the Environmental Monitoring course, Robinson applied. He got his certificate and had an interview with Triton.

 

Since then, he’s worked on almost all of the major projects in Haisla territory such as LNG Canada, Kitimat LNG, and others. The past couple years have been especially busy.

 

“There’s been lots of changes on the work site. There’s more people and more people getting hired,” he said. “It’s a good thing.”

 

On his days off, Robinson focuses on resting, relaxing and his family, who also live in the village and in Kitimat and Terrace.

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“It’s good to be home, close to family,” he said. “I love my job. It’s good money. It’s good hours. It’s stable. It makes me work harder every day.”