Partnerships & Collaborations: Spreading the Gospel of Nature-based Education to Gen Z
by Sarah Besse, BOPN co-Founder and Executive Director
We are delighted to partner with colleges, universities, and municipal youth employment programs to provide practicums, service learning, and youth employment opportunities. Each year we host students from a variety of colleges and universities, creating placements and designing schedules to meet students’ academic requirements and career goals. Through hands-on experience with our nature-based classes, high school and college students gain insights into child development, the importance of play, and connection with nature. Students often report feeling refreshed, describing their experience at BOPN as a healthy outdoor complement to their indoor academic studies. Whether they continue in the field of nature education or not, I hope that students come away from their time at BOPN understanding the importance of play and nature-connection in both healing and uplifting society. Nature preschool is BOPN’s vehicle for spreading the values we truly believe in: caring for one another, and caring for the earth.
Some of our current and upcoming partnerships:
City of Boston’s SuccessLink Youth Employment Program:
SuccessLink is our largest partnership to date. We align with Successlink’s mission to employ, develop, and engage Boston's youth by providing them with opportunities to discover and grow in the field of nature-based early childhood education. Each year we employ youth workers (ages 14 - 18) and youth leaders (ages 19 - 24) during our summer and school year programs. We encourage young people exploring careers in early education to obtain and advance their EEC teaching license, while providing them professional development in nature-connection and child development.
He is Me Institute & Young Man with a Plan:
Did you know that just 3% of nature preschool teachers in the U. S. are Black? (1)
Beginning summer 2024, we are piloting a small-scale collaboration with He is Me Institute and Young Man with a Plan, with the goal of recruiting and developing young men who aspire to careers in the education field. He is Me specializes in the professional and personal development of Black male educators, and seeks to address the critical underrepresentation of Black men in the teaching profession.
With support from SuccessLink, BOPN aims to hire several Black male high school students for our summer program at the Arnold Arboretum. Students will explore identity, storytelling, and the power/privilege/oppression connection through He is Me’s High School Fellowship curriculum, while gaining hands-on teaching experience in outdoor education with BOPN.
City of Malden Youth Employment Program:
High school and college students residing in Malden are welcome to apply for positions at any BOPN site through Malden’s youth employment program. We enjoyed working with Tern, Tarah, and Giuliannah at Pine Banks Park last summer, and look forward to welcoming them back again for summer 2024!
Massachusetts College of Art and Design:
We are in our third year partnering with MassArt’s Center for Art and Community Partnerships, which employs MassArt students to work off-campus at community-based organizations during the school year. Kaitlyn, Meg, and Sara currently work as Art Teachers and Assistant Teachers in our programs, to design and implement engaging seasonal art activities for BOPN children.
Boston University:
Each year we host Boston University seniors majoring in Health Sciences for semester-long practicums. In the fall we hosted Nate, who split his practicum hours between our nature preschool classes at the Arboretum and our Forest Days program. Mohamad started as a practicum student at BOPN, and will join us for his second summer as a teacher this year.
We’re fortunate to also host Boston University PhD students in Occupational Therapy, who lead our preschool classes in activities that develop fine and gross motor skills, executive function, teamwork, and self-care skills.
Northeastern University:
Several courses at Northeastern embed service-learning into academic coursework. Students apply concepts learned in class while spending time at BOPN, then reflect on those experiences back in the classroom. We enjoyed hosting five service learning students this school year.
Carleton College:
As a Carleton grad (class of 2012), I can attest to the value of a liberal arts education, which prepared me well for my career in experiential education. Carleton students often start out at BOPN as winter externs, then return for our summer program or in a Fellowship position after graduation.
Are you interested in exploring a career in nature-based early childhood education? We can help guide your journey from career exploration, through teacher licensure and professional development. Learn more and see current openings here.
BOPN resources:
Daily schedule for our half-day preschool classes
Forest Days program with Boston public schools
See us in action on YouTube! @bostonoutdoorpreschoolnetwork
Documentaries:
Books:
Lens on Outdoor Learning by Wendy Banning and Ginny Sullivan
Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens by David Sobel
The Cedarsong Way by Erin Kenney
Balanced and Barefoot by Angela Hanscom
