We work closely with the Boston Public Schools and various other organizations in the City of Boston and beyond, in an effort to expand outdoor teaching and learning. Click the logos below to find out more about our partner organizations and how they relate to our cause.
The BPS Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Program is part of the Building Services team within the Facilities Management Department, and is led by the Director and the Sustainability, Environment, and Energy Divisions.
The Program is responsible for leading district-wide initiatives to transform the sustainability measures and environmental health of all BPS schools and buildings, prioritizing critical, equitable improvements in drinking water access, indoor air quality, outdoor teaching and learning, renewable energy and efficiency upgrades, and zero waste.
The Office of Partnerships is part of the Office of Family and Community Advancement. Our mission at the Partnerships Office is to foster collaborative relationships between schools, central office departments and community and faith-based partners to create a dynamic and culturally responsive environment for our students and school communities.
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Educators Outdoors is an outdoor education. professional development, and social justice program of the Appalachian Mountain Club. We partner with organizations and schools like BPS that serve youth from lower income communities and communities of color that have historically faced barriers to outdoor recreation. Teachers from BPS can take an outdoor leadership training with AMC, and then access resources such as free gear loans, trip planning support, and lodging subsidies to plan outdoor experiences for their students such as camping, canoeing, and exploring local parks.
Arnold Arboretum offers free science programs in our landscape to students in the Boston Public Schools. Field Study Experiences (PreK-5) promote nature-based hands-on learning connected to classroom life science topics, while Arboretum Young Scientists (Gr. 7-8) is an immersive and intensive summer program that deepens understanding of the natural world.
The CitySprouts mission is to cultivate curiosity and wonder with hands-on science learning through urban gardens. For more than twenty years, CitySprouts has partnered closely with public elementary schools in Cambridge and Boston to provide opportunities for children to learn by exploring the natural world as part of their school journey. CitySprouts is committed to greater equity in science education and children’s access to nature no matter where they live.
The mission of Charles River Watershed Association is to protect, restore, and enhance the Charles River and its watershed using science, advocacy, and the law by developing science-based strategies to increase resilience, protect public health, and promote environmental equity as we face a changing climate, together.
"e" inc. is an environmental education organization dedicated to promoting science literacy and environmental stewardship among children and youth in Boston. Its programs are delivered in day schools, after-school settings, community centers, teen teams, and summer camps, and have a focus on teaching about beings, biomes, resources, and systems that drive the planet. Through various initiatives, "e" inc. aims to empower science-literate 'doers' who are capable of making positive changes in their communities and beyond.
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy has developed the Canopy Classroom, a place-based, environmental education/nature connection program for the youth of Boston. The program connects Boston’s elementary school teachers and their students to nature and the relevance and importance of science in the real world and their daily lives and guides them to become more environmentally conscious. Field trip topics areas are inline with Boston Public School science standards and are facilitated in the fall and spring. All field trips are provided at no cost to schools and include all permitting, program facilitation, transportation, teaching tools, etc.
GLOBE Mission EARTH is a collaborative of multiple institutions across the United States formed to increase involvement in the GLOBE Program. In addition to the members from its partner institutions, the group includes hundreds of other individuals including teachers, students and citizen scientists, located throughout the United States.
Based in Somerville, Massachusetts, Green City Growers provides inspiring shared experiences to connect and educate people to grow food sustainably. Specializing in sustainable urban food growing systems, such as raised garden beds and hydroponic installations, our company has successfully implemented over 200 gardens throughout Massachusetts. At the heart of our mission is working with K-12 schools to provide students with experiential, nature-based learning– something we have been doing since 2008.
Haley House uses food with purpose and the power of community to break down barriers between people, empower individuals, and strengthen neighborhoods. We believe in radical solutions: solving problems at their root by challenging attitudes that perpetuate suffering and building alternative models.
The mission of Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom is “to promote agricultural literacy among educators and to provide them with the skills and support to integrate agriculture into their classrooms.” All of our programs reinforce this mission by introducing educators to farmers and practical lessons at workshops on a farm, offering mini-grants for classroom agricultural projects correlated to the curriculum, and providing agriculturally themed books for their classroom libraries.
Mass Audubon is the largest nature-based conservation organization in New England. Founded in 1896 by two women who fought for the protection of birds, Mass Audubon carries on their legacy by focusing on the greatest challenges facing the environment today: the loss of biodiversity, inequitable access to nature, and climate change.
The mission of Speak for the Trees is to improve the size, health, and equity of the urban tree canopy in Boston, with a focus on under-resourced and under-canopied neighborhoods. We work at the intersection of environmental justice, racial and social equity, public health, and climate change to advocate for a healthy and equitable urban forest in Boston.
The Food Project envisions a world where youth are active leaders, diverse communities feel connected to the land and each other, and everyone has access to fresh, local, healthy, affordable food.
Tree Eastie is a volunteer driven community based urban forestry program. As an Environmental Justice community, their goals are to plant more trees in high urban heat islands, educate residents on the benefits of trees, and ensure the proper maintenance and care of new and existing trees.
The Trustees' Boston Community Gardens invites schools (and wider youth programs) to learn through doing and observing. The Trustees' gardens offer space for teachers and youth leaders to engage young people in food growth education. The gardens can be used as a tool for educating students on math, science, literacy, exploration, team building, productive struggles, food systems, and environmental stewardship. The Trustees will support access to gardens for programming prioritizing equity, dignity and justice.
The Urban Bee Lab is a 501(c)(3) non-profit on a mission to improve bee health. We see bees as the ultimate tie that binds food security, climate change, natural disaster mitigation, and ecological preservation.
Urban Farming Institute’s mission is to develop and promote urban farming to engage individuals in growing food and building a healthy community. They envision a city where diverse food cultures flourish, and everyone can grow and share food in their own neighborhoods. And they are pleased to cultivate a deep and distributed farming network, ensuring local access to fresh, sustainable produce for their communities.
YouthBuild Boston is deeply committed to demonstrating the transformation that architecture and construction can have on the reconstruction of spaces within our neighborhoods and communities. Young adults, when equipped with the tools and access, can disrupt systems that are placed to oppress communities of color. This project is an example of how intentional regenerative development can happen at the grassroots level. As one result, young adults from a local elementary school now have in place a vital piece of infrastructure to support urban gardening pedagogy while also providing fresh produce to the neighborhood.
Interested in becoming a partner? Reach out via our Contact Us page!
