Many people studying forestry or wanting to enter the profession of forestry, whether domestically or internationally trained, usually lack a professional network and experience in forestry. These factors have been noted as major barriers for entry into the workforce by new forest professionals around the world in a recent United Nations report. In 2022, the Ontario Professional Foresters Association (OPFA) formed a Professional Networking Task Team (PNTT). One of the goals of this task team is to provide new OPFA members, such as yourself, opportunities to gain a better understanding of forestry and develop your professional network. To do so, the PNTT developed a program called “Shadow a Forester”. The program provides students and provisional OPFA members the opportunity to connect with professional foresters working in various aspects of professional forestry. Why join the “Shadow a Forester” program? ● Connect with professional foresters that work in your area of interest...

We are asking members to help us more accurately represent the diversity of people, forests and jobs in professional forestry in Ontario by sharing photos of themselves or their teams at work that we can use in OPFA media. Images are compelling and play a huge role in shaping how we see the world and the people around us. Every day, we constantly see photos of people—on social media, on websites, on television, and even in our professional environments. The more we showcase the diversity of people and roles in professional forestry, the more engaged our community of foresters will be, and the more inclusive the culture of the forest sector becomes. On the recommendation of the Equity and Inclusion Task Team, the OPFA is aiming to build a thoughtful and deliberate catalogue of images to draw from for use in outreach materials, social media posts, and on the OPFA...

The Forest Bird Monitoring Program (FBMP) has been running since 1987 and is currently managed by Birds Canada. Its purpose is to estimate trends in forest bird diversity and abundance. These estimates are used to assist in developing public policy. The OPFA and Birds Canada are collaborating to provide two webinars. There is no cost to attend, however registration is required. Professional foresters work across Ontario and are uniquely positioned to collect biological data that is not easily obtained through other means. Please join in these webinars and consider assisting in the collection of this important data.  Professional foresters are often required to answer questions related to forest activities and biological diversity. Involvement in the Forest Bird Monitoring Program will enable professional foresters to better know the location and species of birds in their forests. The webinars are presented by Samreen Munim. Samreen has been identifying birds and helping conduct...

The 2022 Virtual Annual Conference and AGM was held April 12 -14 and was a great success thanks to our organising team, the sponsors & exhibitors, speakers and of course everyone who attended!  The theme of this years conference was: Supporting Resilient Forests and Growing Trust The recorded sessions are now available on the virtual conference platform for those that registered for the conference. The 2023 Annual Conference and AGM is being planned to be held in Peterborough as a hybrid conference; with both in-person and virtual attendance options..  

December 16, 2021 Bill 13 Supporting People and Business Act, 2021 received royal assent on December 2, 2021 and the changes to the Professional Foresters Act therefore came into effect upon that date. These changes refine the scope of practice of professional foresters and will allow the public to better understand their role. You can find the changes on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario website: https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-2/bill-13. View the updated Professional Foresters Act, 2000 here.   What are the benefits of these changes?  These changes include new definitions, rewording the scope of professional forestry, and clearer wording related to protecting the title used by professional foresters. The changes more clearly define professional forestry and reduce overlap with different occupations that also work in forestry. Please note that the changes do not include any changes to Regulation 145/01 ; that is there is no change to the occupations that are excluded. For...