For over 30 years Tree World has been a family-first company, committed to creating earth-friendly, plant protection products that help plants grow successfully, thereby helping preserve the planet for future generations.

Tree World Plant Care Products Inc incorporated in 1988.

Our early focus was providing corporate clients with tree seedlings used in sales and marketing promotions.  Plantskydd® Animal Repellents—have been tried, tested and true since 1992. Originally created in Sweden—where its name means ‘plant protection’—it is now made in the USA and has received wide market acceptance at thousands of retail outlets in the USA and Canada.

Today, Tree World is focused exclusively on providing plant protection solutions to customers experiencing animal damage to their: gardens, crops, nurseries, woodlots, tree plantations and riparian areas.

Photo Credit: Regan Hately

Family

Alaya Boisvert

operations and marketing manager.

Alaya has been around Tree World pretty much her whole life. She remembers as a kid packing up boxes of bulk powder and having to be absolutely sure the tape job around each edge was meticulous. After leaving the nest and working for over 15 years in sustainability and leadership, Alaya decided to come home and channel her love for making a difference in people’s lives into the family business, Tree World. As our Operations & Marketing Manager, Alaya is a courageous, entrepreneurial and creative leader committed to demonstrating that people can live in harmony with each other and the earth. Working closely with her dad, she’s the driving force behind day-to-day operations and strategic planning. Alaya puts people first, leading the team with accountability, connection, and creativity.

Alaya currently serves on the Board of the local Credit Union, establishing the inaugural Environmental Social Governance Committee. She is also a Board Member of The Power of Play, an incredible organization building sustainable playgrounds for children in need of space to play. True to her belief we can create a world that works for everyone, she founded a local climate action network, a non-partisan group of local citizens and organizations dedicated to building transformational change toward a fossil fuel free community.

When not fighting the good fight, Alaya and her partner Brendan are usually swimming in the ocean, scaling mountains and serving meals to friends in the hood. Alaya is a proud mum to an energetic 10 year old who inspires her daily to be loving, present and adventurous.

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Allan Alford

sales and production manager.

With a 20 year career in the lawn and garden industry, Allan brings a wealth of knowledge to his role as Sales & Production Manager at Tree World. His sales and marketing background at manufacturer, distributor and retailer levels has allowed him to build and maintain relationships with many leaders of our industry across North America. Since joining us in 2003, Allan has applied his unique approach to problem solving to help us develop our distribution network, with a focus on supporting independent garden centres. He is passionate about helping our customers achieve their goals: beautifying their environments, growing crops and working towards reforestation.

When he’s not at the office, Allan loves to write, produce and perform music. For over 30 years he’s been performing at live venues with a wide variety of artists, primarily in Vancouver and on the Sunshine Coast. He plays a variety of styles of music including funk, r&b, blues, rock, reggae and country. Although his primary instrument is guitar he often performs on bass, drums and percussion as well. On a nice summer day, you’ll find Allan on his boat fishing, exploring and photographing the beauty that surrounds us in British Columbia.

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Emily Kennedy

customer service and operations specialist.

Empathetic, understanding and adaptable, Emily’s passionate about helping people protect what they love: their crops, seedlings and gardens. Part of the Tree World family since 2019, as Customer Service & Operations Specialist Emily touches all aspects of our work – from assisting customers to social media to logistics to finance. Emily’s love for nature started on Trout Lake in North Bay, Ontario, where her grandparents lived. She remembers swimming, boating and camping in the summer and sledding and skating in the winter. After graduating from the University of Ottawa and working in customer service for over 10 years, Emily decided to join Tree World to marry her love for nature with her work.

On weekends, you’ll find Emily spending time with her friends. Whether biking, camping or hanging out with her sassy, chunky cat, Smithers, she tries to spend as much time as possible outdoors. She fondly remembers canoeing up the inlet and finding a campsite on top of a massive boulder, right beside water. On days when the weather is not cooperating, you’ll find her cooking or baking at home.

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Laurel Workman

agriculture sales and marketing coordinator.

Laurel describes herself as a lifelong learner. She’s always looking for ways to expand her knowledge and understanding of life, both professionally and personally. Laurel spent over 25 years in the medical field working as a quality assurance analyst. A career change decision brought her to Tree World in 2021 as an Agriculture Sales & Marketing Coordinator. She cares deeply about having a job where she can make a difference, whether it’s helping people troubleshoot issues with their clinical instrument or helping them prevent deer from destroying their crops. As a big-picture person with a knack for detail, she brings both analytical experience and love of nature to her work. Laurel loves getting to know our customers, understanding their needs and providing them with quality service.

In her downtime, Laurel is a self-proclaimed photographer. You’ll often find her on a hike with her Canon EOS M50 camera exploring the wilderness and capturing all of its beauty in her photos. Laurel is also a dedicated gardener, which gives her an inside view to the challenges our customers face every day.

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Maureen Lupini

business administration manager.

With over 40 years experience in finance, Maureen is our Business Administration Manager. Family is very important to Maureen. Whether it’s her work family or her family at home, she puts people first. She believes the best way to run a business is by empowering individuals to take ownership and responsibility for their positions, and thereby lifting them up. Her work motto is “in the best interest of the business,” which also means ensuring all our practices protect our people, wildlife and environment.

At home, you’ll often find Maureen hosting family gatherings for her two kids and seven grandkids. She also enjoys sewing, knitting and watching golf. Since moving from South Africa back in May 2015, Maureen has enjoyed a few opportunities to travel around Canada and explore our beautiful country.

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Randy Johnston

senior retail sales specialist.

Tree World’s Senior Retail Sales Specialist, Randy, talks to thousands of our independent garden centre owners, buyers, landscapers, and farmer suppliers every month. In fact, his favourite part of working with us is listening to customers and prospects. He believes our customers are the best resource for sales and marketing insights and ideas. Randy came to Tree World in 2007 from the world of television production. He managed a local cable TV station in Prince Albert, wrote and produced commercials for CKBI TV and eventually moved to Prince George for a senior writing and producing position. After meeting his wife Donna, Randy decided to move to Gibsons, BC and start a new career in sales. Since then, he’s worked across several industries, including finance, insurance and automotive.

Randy enjoys music and plays guitar, a hobby which he shares with his family. He’s also an avid bird watcher, golfer, and runner. Over the last few years, he’s completed several 10 km and half marathon races around BC.

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Richard Getzkow

agriculture sales and marketing manager.

A Tree World employee since 1999, Richard is our Agriculture Sales & Marketing Manager. Over the past 20 years, he’s travelled the world working in the horticulture, silviculture and agriculture markets. He’s passionate about understanding ecological relationships: where crops grow, how wildlife behave and what the environmental impact is. Developing and fostering customer relationships and understanding how people are using our products are two things that get him excited about the job.

Looking for Richard? You’ll often find him at the top of a mountain. He’s enjoyed camping, hiking and fishing since he was a kid. In 1995, he attempted to summit Mt. Aconcagua, a mountain that straddles the Andes of Chile and Argentina. Then he tried again in 1998. The best advice anyone has ever given him is: live your life as though you might die tomorrow, but learn as if you may live forever.

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Sarah White

senior sales specialist – retail and conservation.

After working in customer service for over 20 years, Sarah joined Tree World in 2008 and now serves as a Senior Retail & Conservation Sales Specialist. She is driven by customer stories. She enjoys interviewing customers to learn more about their specific situation and applying her knowledge of agronomy and animal behaviour to provide them the best solutions. She loves a challenge and thrives on turning a negative customer experience into a positive one. Her determination and drive seeps into everything she does, including her family.

In her free time, Sarah loves to travel with her partner and two kids. You’ll often find her at the family cottage, exploring the outdoors. Now that she is an empty nester, she can’t wait to take her sense of adventure abroad and explore new cultures around the world. One of her favourite places in the world is Barra De Navidad, Mexico, a place she can’t wait to revisit.

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Kaitlynn Melnychuk-LeTroy

Customer Care Representative.

With 13 years of experience spanning Customer Service, Accounts Receivable, Landscaping, and various roles in the Garden Center industry, Kaitlynn has gained a broad range of knowledge and insights. She’s excited to bring this experience to Tree World, where she can merge her customer service skills with her enthusiasm for plants and gardening.

Vegetable gardening is Kaitlynn’s greatest passion. Outside of work, on weekends, and during any free moments, you’ll often find her tending to her four garden beds and greenhouse. Kaitlynn also enjoys hiking through the forest, spending time at the beach, boating, reading, writing, and unwinding in the backyard after a busy day.

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Mission & Vision

While remembering our roots as a family business, to be thoughtful leaders and positive examples in our green growing and plant protection business; to connect people to the joy of nature.

Our vision is a world where we proactively help restore the ecological health of our planet.

Operating Values

  1. We are committed to honouring the integrity, opinions and skills of our employees as we strive to inspire and connect people to nature – including gardens, fields and forests.
  2. We will provide a safe, respectful and positive working environment so that all who work with us will feel comfortable, confident and inspired.
  3. We will operate as a Team so that everyone wins.
  4. We will encourage all of our employees to treat everyone – customers, vendors and co-workers alike – with dignity and decency.
  5. We will support all employees in sincerely providing the best information to our customers even when the best recommendation is not one of our products.
  6. We will encourage all employees to engage in open dialogue to foster new ideas and concepts.
  7. We will remind each other that there is no such thing as a dumb question.
  8. We will grow responsibly by regularly and comprehensively reviewing our processes and procedures to improve our business model, achieve sustainable practices and more effectively meet our customer’s needs.
  9. We will remain humble and caring as we continue to grow and evolve.
    We will make promises that we will keep, and we will get tasks completed accurately and on time.
  10. We will stress the importance of a healthy work-life balance, and encourage all employees to value their quality of life, while remembering to find fun in life wherever and whenever possible.
  11. We will advocate for a greener, healthier world for all wherever and whenever appropriate.