A Romp with the Wolves

There is just something about wolves that makes them unforgettable, especially when you get right up close and personal with these amazing animals. On July 18-24, 2009, the Cottonwood Institute took eight brave students out on their Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking Project. Not only did they pet the wolves, but they came right up to give the students a big, wet kiss on the face!

The course took place at a wolf sanctuary called Mission: Wolf in the Wet Mountain Valley just south of Westcliff, Colorado. Lead by Cottonwood Institute Instructors Brittany Salley-Rains and Ryan Bovard-Johns, the students met the wolves, learned about their behavior and their importance in the ecosystem and fed the wolves. They helped out around the sanctuary by collecting firewood and lending a hand in the beginning stages of building a tepee for future volunteers to stay in.

In addition to their work with the wolves, the participants also learned important wilderness survival skills, including an awesome demonstration of hand and bow drill fire making by Mission Wolf Volunteer Andy Elmgren. They also went on fun hikes, participated in stalking games, nature awareness, and animal tracking activities.

“The course was sick,” says James Hanifin (a.k.a. Night Hawk) a junior at New Vista High School in Boulder. James took the course because he wanted to chill with the wolves. When asked about his experience James said,  “The wolves were sweet, I gained a lot of respect for the wolves and learned a bunch of survival skills.”

Zamantha Quezada of Englewood, Colorado found out about the course from her niece and thought it sounded interesting. “I liked the course, I liked getting to be with the wolves and petting and feeding them.” Zamantha plans and returning to Mission: Wolf to volunteer so she can spend more time with the wolves.

Fall Staff Training

Surrounded by the beauty of Echo Lake and Mt. Evans, the staff of Cottonwood Institute came together for an amazing staff training session.

Ford Church, the Founder and Executive Director, walked us through a variety of survival scenarios and taught us skills to last a lifetime.  We teamed up to build survival shelters and started fires using several methods including strikers, one match, and the primitive bow drill method. We also practiced essential camping skills, such as how to properly set up base camp, and shared tips, techniques, and strategies for teaching these skills to a wide variety of audiences.

At the end of our day, we celebrated with a tasty outdoor potluck and camaraderie around the campfire with our friends from Colorado Fourteeners Initiatives (CFI) and hearty volunteers from our Mt. Evans Volunteer Project.

“I feel lucky to have met such dedicated instructors,” says Derek Rusnak, Cottonwood Instructor.

Cottonwood Institute’s Instructors are top-notch.

If you have a group interested in practicing these skills, we would be happy to design a course to suit your needs.  Contact us today and start “changing the world one adventure at a time!”

Check out the action, Click here for a complete photo gallery.

Alumni Snapshot: Jeremy Bacon

Jeremy took the Wildland Firefighter Project from the Cottonwood Institute a few years ago. Since then, Jeremy volunteered with Americorps where he was sent to City Year Boston to work at an inner city elementary school in Boston, Massachusetts. Jeremy acted as events coordinator for in school programs and helped run their after school programs as well. I recently had the pleasure to speak with Jeremy to find out what he is up to today.

Q: What are you up to these days?

A: While I was at City Year Boston I held the schools first ever Slam Poetry event and it was a huge success. I am now in the process of starting SLAM, a non-profit performance program for youth that includes hip-hop, spoken word and poetry. Right now I am working on developing SLAM into a YMCA program to be accessible to kids here in Denver, Colorado so they can come and take free lessons.

Q: What is your favorite Cottonwood Institute memory or story from your course?

A: My favorite memory from my course was the bond I had with Ford Church, Founder and Director of the Cottonwood Institute. Ford took me out of my comfort zone. I joined the course as an at risk youth. I hated everyone and everything, and Ford took me out of that mentality.

Q: What social or environmental issue are you most passionate about and what are you doing to address it?

A: I am most passionate about addressing poverty and violence. I am starting SLAM to give kids a positive outlet, to help provide a different outlook on life, and to offer better role models in their lives.

Stone Age Survival Students Get Primitive

Early this July, eight lucky participants got in touch with their primal instincts in the Cottonwood Institute’s Stone Age Survival Course. Yes, this is how we used to thrive and survive back in the day before cell phones and electricity. Before all of our modern comforts this is how humans survived. But these skills are not outdated. In a survival situation they could save your life.

On July 8th, 2009, the students and two instructors, Brittany Salley-Rains and Clark Patton, met and set off to a stone-age living skills school called Earth Knack located in Crestone, Colorado. They spent the following 7 days learning primitive skills and sleeping under the stars. Every participant got down and dirty making primitive fires using hand drill and bow drill sets, flint knapping stones to make knives, and weaving baskets out of willow. They learned about the edible and medicinal plants of the area and made debris hut survival shelters. One student even spent the night in the freshly constructed shelter.

Throughout the course the students learned about sustainable living and building and how to apply all this to their own life to reduce their ecological footprint. After learning all the stone age skills the participants completed several small service projects, building ditches and garden beds to give back to the land and the Earth Knack community.

Instructor Brittany Salley-Rains commented that it was a great trip. “I was really impressed with the students dedication to learning the skills. Everyone rose to the challenge. They learned a lot not only about primitive skills, but also sustainable living.”

To view pictures from the 2009 Stone Age Survival Project, Click Here.

CAP Pre-Course Survey, 1st Quarter 2009

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.

Free Survival Clinic At REI Denver Flagship Store

Most survival situations happen when you least expect it and when you are least prepared. Before you head to the hills this fall to explore the color change or the bugling elk, join the Cottonwood Institute for a Free Survival Clinic at REI. Participate in an interactive survival scenario, learn about survival priorities, tips, strategies, and techniques, and learn how to make a personal survival kit.

Our next presentation will be at the REI Denver Flagship Store – Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at 7pm located at: 1416 Platte Street, Denver, CO 80202. Please RSVP by contacting April Pishna, Cottonwood Institute Administrative Coordinator, via Email.

Aron Ralston Ticket Give-Away

Survival – To endure or live through.

Aron Ralston knows the meaning of survival intimately.  While hiking alone in Canyonlands National Park in Utah, Ralston found himself in an unpredictable situation.  Climbing down from a wedged boulder, the rock suddenly came loose and pinned his right arm against the canyon wall.  He was trapped and no one knew where he was.

The Chartered Property Casual Underwriter Insurance Institute of America (CPCUIIA) will be hosting Aron Ralston to speak at their annual conference on Saturday, August 29, 2009 at 3:30pm at the Colorado Convention Center’s Four Seasons Ballroom, where he will tell his story of ultimate survival. CPCUIIA selected the Cottonwood Institute to be the beneficiary of a percentage of Ralston’s book sales, Between A Rock And A Hard Place, during the conference, which will support our Jason F. Griffith Scholarship Fund.

Although tickets cannot be purchased for this private event, CPCUIIA is giving away two tickets to the first person to Email Us. Place “CPCUIIA Ralston Event” in the subject line and include your first and last name, email address, phone number, and short response as to why you want to hear Aron’s story in the body of the email.

Respond immediately for your chance to win!

Volunteers Needed For Mt. Evans Project

It’s that time of year again and we are pumped!  Cottonwood Institute will be teaming up with Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) to help complete much needed trail maintenance and ecological restoration projects on the beautiful and majestic Mt. Evans the weekend of August 21-23, 2009.

This volunteer opportunity is for adventurous folks who want to blend their passion for climbing these awesome peaks and who feel compelled to heed the call to help restore and protect them. We will set up our base camp at Echo Lake Campground and drive up to our site on Mt. Evans each day.

While the days will be action packed, there will be plenty of time in the afternoons and evenings for relaxing at our base camp, hanging out, and philosophizing. You will be able to work on projects at your own pace, so make this experience as mild or as wild as you want.

We only have 4 more spaces to fill, so Register Today! This is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and for everyone to walk their talk and give back to the mountains that we all use and love. Click Here for a detailed itinerary and registration instructions. To find out more about Cottonwood Institute visit us on the web at: CottonwoodInstitute.org.