Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Boston Outdoor Preschool Network, known as BOPN, is a nonprofit offering nature-based early education for children from 15 months through 7 years old. Children spend their days learning outdoors through play with mixed-age peers, guided by trained educators, rain or shine. Programs include school-year care, summer camps and toddler nature groups at eight sites across eastern Massachusetts, all built around nature immersion, interest-led learning, inquiry-based teaching and authentic play.

Co-founders Sarah Besse and Shela Sinelien were public school educators who noticed that preschoolers seemed most alive when exploring nature and their community, and they launched BOPN in 2019 to give young learners a joyfully muddy childhood. Equitable access is central to the mission: the network offers financial aid, runs Forest Days with local public schools, and opened Boston’s first free nature preschool, located at the zoo, through Boston Pre-K.

What to Know

• The founders received the Boston University Young Alumni Award for their work in early education.
• The teaching approach draws on Lens on Outdoor Learning and the NAAEE early childhood environmental education guidelines.
• Families can schedule a tour to see programs in action.