About OPA

Look beyond the pavement and buildings. Notice the parks, trees, trails, and green spaces that surround you—spaces created for your health, enjoyment, and well-being. This is green infrastructure.

Green infrastructure includes urban forests, woodlots, wetlands, storm ponds, meadows, parks, gardens, green roofs, ravines, and green walls. Together, these natural assets provide powerful environmental, economic, and social benefits—from cleaner air and water to stronger communities and healthier lifestyles.

Now imagine a future without them.

A neighbourhood without a playground. A trail without trees. A river no longer safe to explore. For many communities, this future is closer than we think. Parks and green spaces are under increasing pressure from pollution, vandalism, deterioration, and declining government funding. The need to protect and care for these spaces has never been greater.

That’s where Ontario Parks Association (OPA) comes in.

OPA works to champion, protect, and strengthen parks and green spaces across Ontario. By supporting professionals, educators, and communities, we help ensure that green infrastructure is valued, cared for, and preserved—today and for generations to come.

Because thriving parks mean thriving communities.

Ontario Parks Association (OPA) is a registered charitable organization founded in 1936 whose focus is on Protecting Tomorrow Today®. Our registered charity number is 12725 7509 RR0001.

EDUCATE

We offer hands-on education sessions on a variety of topics relevant to people working in the parks and open spaces industry to promote the importance of continued professional development.

ADVOCATE

We advocate for the importance of parks and open spaces in all communities. We believe parks are essential to healthy communities and that all citizens have the right to enjoy outdoor leisure opportunities.

CELEBRATE

We celebrate the achievements of students, organizations and individuals through annual awards recognition programs.

TERRITORIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A territorial acknowledgement honours the land on which our successes have been built, and the Indigenous people who have been living on and caring for this land for thousands of years. It is a longstanding protocol among Indigenous peoples that honours their spiritual connection to the land. We offer this territorial acknowledgement as an act towards reconciliation between non-Indigenous Canadians and the Indigenous peoples of Canada.

We acknowledge that the land on which our OPA office stands is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishnaabe and Neutral People. We acknowledge the enduring presence of the Indigenous people with whom we share this land today, their achievements and their contributions to our community. We offer this acknowledgement as an act of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Canada.

MISSION STATEMENT

OPA is committed to educating parks professionals to exceed industry standards and actively advocate for the protection and enhancement of parks and open spaces.