Equity at BOPN

Since launching in September 2019, BOPN has awarded scholarships to hundreds of families for our school year and summer programs.

As part of our commitment to equity, we actively pursue opportunities to expand access to nature-based early education in underserved communities throughout eastern Massachusetts.

Expanding Access

“...despite their safety and effectiveness, nature preschools are not equally available to all children. White children are overrepresented in nature preschools, [while] dual language learners and children with disabilities are underrepresented. Disparities in access to high-quality education are widespread across the education system in the United States, and nature-based programs have not been the exception. In addition, children of color have less access to nature than white children, pointing to yet further injustice in bringing the benefits of nature to all children.”
- Natural Start Alliance

Our goal is to increase access to nature-based early childhood education.

Through our scholarship fund, and partnerships with local public schools and Boston Pre-K, BOPN is committed to bringing high-quality, nature-based early education to more children.

“Letting kids be kids is the starting place for social justice. When we deprive children of play and care, and think they need skill and drill style instruction or reward and punishment kind of guidance, we are telling them they need to be fixed and changed and will be valued someday, when they become someone in the future. Social justice starts with seeing our young children as whole complete sovereign intelligent citizens with unquestioned belonging.”

– Carol Garboden Murray, Illuminating Care

Public School Partnerships

In September 2022, BOPN launched “Forest Days” in collaboration with Charles Sumner Elementary School in Roslindale, to provide their three K1 (preK) classes consistent opportunities for outdoor play and nature connection. Forest Days is part of a growing movement to get public school children into nature. Our program has since expanded to include the K0/K1 inclusion class at Joseph P. Manning Elementary School.

Each class spends one morning per week exploring nature with guidance from BOPN's outdoor educators, their classroom teachers, and family volunteers.

Benefits of Forest Days

Forest Days create invaluable experiences for children in urban areas through regular access to the natural environments within their communities.

The benefits of play in nature are undeniable: children’s immune systems improve, social-emotional skills are honed, self-confidence and self-esteem develop, and creative and critical thinking skills sharpen. There are academic benefits as well, including better hand-eye coordination and core strength, which are essential for children to later sit at desks and write.

BOPN Forest Days incorporate place-based literacy as children explore maps, signs, and field guides, and math skills are developed naturally as we count and sort pinecones, measure sticks, and find shapes in nature.

Learn more about BOPN Forest Days at Charles Sumner Elementary School through the words of teachers Marie and Morgan, and check out Boston Neighborhood Network’s TV news coverage of our Forest Days program!

Forest Days Team

Guénaëlle Maria

Guénaëlle’s Swiss alpine roots have always connected her to nature’s splendor—a passion that fuels her work as an educator.

Piera Varin

Financial Aid at BOPN

We consider it a moral obligation to serve all children, regardless of a family’s ability to pay tuition.

Currently, nearly 40% of our enrolled families receive some type of financial assistance.

Financial aid may be offered in the form of an enrollment fee reduction or waiver, deposit payment schedule, tuition reduction, and/or outdoor gear and equipment assistance.

Support our Equity Initiatives

As a 501(c)(3), our goal is to make nature-based early education as accessible as possible to as many families as we can. Contributions help us offer scholarships, create new nature-based opportunities via our equity projects, and deliver essential resources to students in need. Make a lasting impact on the lives of these promising learners by giving today.