Cottonwood Institute Receives Matching Gift from Jack Johnson!

As it turns out, in addition to being an amazing musician and singer songwriter, Jack Johnson is also one really cool guy. At his concert on August 17^th at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Cottonwood Institute was chosen to be one of five local non-profit organizations to be featured at the Village Green at the show. Village Green is an aspect of Jack Johnson’s work to support local and international non-profit organizations. Part of the package is that Jack pledges to match the amount of donations made to these organizations through the All At Once community and the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation. We are very happy to announce that the Cottonwood Institute met the maximum match of $2,500 and raised a total of $5,000 to benefit the Griffith Scholarship Fund!

Plus, get this! Before the show, Jack and his wife Kim made a special visit to Village Green to personally introduce themselves and spend time with each one of the non-profit organizations. In addition, before the show he played four songs on a small stage next to the booths to draw more attention to the organizations. All in all, the Jack Johnson concert was a large success for the Cottonwood Institute. Thank you Jack Johnson!!

Congratulations to the following winners associated with Jack Johnson’s challenge:

• Jeff Aitken of the Fluid Coffee Bar won 2 tickets to the concert through the Base Camp Bash silent auction.
• Stephen Cordova won 2 tickets through the Summer Course registration promotion.
• Pat and Fen Barry won 2 tickets through the Cottonwood Institute donation drive.
• Matthew Moluf won 2 tickets through eBay Giving Works for nonprofits.
• Mandy Gonzales won a Chipotle burrito party for ten through the mailing list drawing at the show.
• Evan Christensen was the top donor at the concert and won an Official Cottonwood Institute Survival Kit.

The Cottonwood Institute would also like to offer a huge thanks to Jack Johnson and his team for making all of this possible, Tiffany Fourment and Teal Meiling for their time and energy volunteering at the show and Jessica Church, Emily Stewart and Becky Ross for all their help preparing for this event!

Reduce Your Footprint

The Cottonwood Institute is committed to helping people raise their awareness of local environmental issues, environmental sustainability, and how to reduce their environmental footprint. Here are three easy things you can do to help you change the world:

Step One: Calculate Your Environmental Footprint: Go to MyFootprint.org and calculate your personal environmental footprint.

Step Two: Complete Our Environmental Footprint Worksheet: Download a copy of our Environmental Footprint Worksheet

to identify areas in your life where you can reduce your footprint, identify roadblocks that are preventing you from changing your habits, what support you need to overcome these roadblocks, and identify ways you can reduce your environmental footprint within the next 3 months.

Step Three: Make A Commitment: If you need ideas on where to start, Download a copy of our Environmental Solutions Handout and pick at least one think you can do to reduce your footprint within the next three months.

For more information about a variety of environmental issues, feel free to download a copy of our Sustainability Resources Handout

and spread the word to your friends and family!

Local Environmental Issues Research

Local Environmental Issues Research

“The conservationist’s most important task, if we are to save the earth, is to educate.” – Peter Scott

Here is a list to get you started with your local environmental issue research!

You have about 30 minutes to look through these websites.  Take notes and be ready to contribute ideas about what kinds of environmental issues we are facing in Boulder County.

As we are heading towards selecting an issue that we want to address as a class in our action project it is important to gather as much information as possible to make a good decision.  This time, in combination with the other work we have done in class, is your time to become informed.

Feel free to visit other local websites if you know some, but please start here.

Local Environmental Websites

·         9News Live Green Website: http://www.9news.com/advertorial/livegreen/ 

·         Sierra Club Green Life Website: http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/

·         Go Green In the Classroom: http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/23/50-ways-to-go-green-in-the-classroom/

·         Greenprint Denver Website: http://www.greenprintdenver.org/ 

·         CU Environmental Center Website: http://ecenter.colorado.edu/index.html

·         Partners For A Clean Environment Website: http://www.pacepartners.com/

·         Rocky Mountain Institute Website: http://www.rmi.org/defaultHTM.php

·         Rocky Mountain Sierra Club Website: http://www.rmc.sierraclub.org/index.shtml

·         Center for Resource Conservation Website: http://www.conservationcenter.org/

·         Boulder County Going Local: www.bouldercountygoinglocal.com 

·         Center for Resource Conservation: http://www.conservationcenter.org/

·         Boulder County Public Health: http://www.bouldercounty.org/health/environ/water/

·         Open Space and Mountain Parks : www.osmp.org

Pre-Course Survey, 1st Semester 2008

Welcome to the Community Adventure Program! Before we get started, we
need to get some feedback about your outdoor experience, your thoughts
about the environment, your community, etc. Please answer this survey
honestly and to the best of your ability. The good folks who fund this
class use this information to assess the performance of the class and
this information will help us acquire new grants. Please Click Here To Take The Survey.

Using the Website

You’ve now been a part of our CAP class for two days and have a basic idea of the things we will be doing this semester. What are you most looking forward to? What are you a little nervous about?

Welcome to CAP, Fall 2008!

Welcome to CAP! This semester we will become active community leaders
through identifying a local environmental issue affecting our community
and then doing something about it!  Through exploration, field trips,
and guest speakers, we will learn about environmental sustainability,
find ways to reduce our carbon footprint, develop camping and survival
skills, and discover what it means to be a leader and work on a team. 

This is our class website where we will post information, pictures,
videos, links, etc. about what we are doing throughout the semester.
This is a joint instructor/student website and it is integral that we
all contribute.  Your voice is super important!

I’m looking forward to our adventures this semester.  We are going to have a blast!

1st Web Journal Assignment

This is your first web journal for Fall 2008!  Please take the time to respond fully to the following questions.

I have included the grading guidelines below:

Grading and Expectations: The standard 4, 3, 2, 1 grading scale outlined in the syllabus will apply to these required journal entries. I expect you to put at least 15-30 minutes of time thinking about the question, writing and editing your response, and posting your comment. Comments that contain 2 paragraphs of well articulated thoughts with no spelling or grammar errors will receive a grade of a 4. If your journal entry is only 1 or 2 sentences you have not spent the time, energy, and level of thought I am looking for and will receive a grade of a 2 or 1. Because this is a public forum, proofreading, spelling, and grammar are key!

Questions:

1. Welcome to the Community Adventure Program,  Now that you have an overview of the class and have a basic understanding of what we will be doing this quarter, what are you looking forward to?

2. What is "the environment" to you?

Pre-Course Survey, 1st Quarter 2008

Welcome to the Community Adventure Program. Before we get started, we
need to get some feedback about your outdoor experience, your thoughts
about the environment, your community, etc. Please answer this survey
honestly and to the best of your ability. The good folks who fund this
class use this information to assess the performance of the class and
this information will help us acquire new grants. Please Click Here To Take The Survey.

Pre-Course Survey, 1st Semester 2008

Welcome to the Community Adventure Program. Before we get started, we
need to get some feedback about your outdoor experience, your thoughts
about the environment, your community, etc. Please answer this survey
honestly and to the best of your ability. The good folks who fund this
class use this information to assess the performance of the class and
this information will help us acquire new grants. Please Click Here To Take The Survey.

Change the World Movie Night: The Real Dirt on Farmer John

Come join the Cottonwood Institute on Thursday, August 14^th 2008 for a free viewing of the film, The Real Dirt on Farmer John. The movie will begin at 6:30 pm at the Fluid Coffee Bar in Denver, and will be followed by a discussion about how to change the world!

“Soil tastes good today.” – Farmer John Peterson

In the tiny town of Caledonia, Illinois there lives a farmer named John. But John is not your ordinary farmer. Apart from his ruff and tumble past, Farmer John enjoys riding his tractor wearing only his underwear and a purple, feathered boa, singing songs about bumble bees, and most importantly farming organically and running his own CSA cooperative (Community supported agriculture). In his early teens, John’s father passed away, and the tending of the family farm was left to John. In his hands the farm went through many transformations. From an art commune in the 70’s, to the farming economic crisis in the 80’s when John lost most of his land. The film The Real Dirt on Farmer John tells the inspiring story of John’s life, and the struggles and hardship he endured to make the farm the way it is today. CLICK HERE to view the trailer, and we hope to see you on Thursday!

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