Green Dress Exchange: Earth Task Force Re-Thinks Prom

Prom is a tradition known around our nation and celebrated by high school students of every caliber.  Often times, high school students buy a brand new outfit for every prom they attend.  According to Annie Leonard, voice and face behind “The Story of Stuff“, only 1% of the “stuff” Americans buy is still in use six months after purchase.  That means that 99% of the things Americans buy is trashed in 6 months or less!  These are some of the reasons why the Earth Task Force (ETF) began to imagine a new way to approach prom.

Students from the ETF decided to educate their community about consumerism and give their peers an alternative option to buying new for prom.  With donations from a popular second-hand store in Boulder called Savers, and personal donations by several members of the ETF, the Green Dress Exchange was born!

The idea is simple: bring a dress and get a different one in return.  If you don’t have a dress to exchange, bring $10.00 instead.  That way students spend a lot less money (or no money at all) on new prom outfits and still keep their other dresses in use.

The exchange was open to students throughout Boulder Valley School District.  While it was difficult to effectively get the word out to every high school, in the end the dress exchange was a big success.  There were more dresses than expected, and almost everyone that came traded in a dress.

Cookies were baked, music was played, and many people arrived.  Students from two high schools attended to trade their dresses, and all left happy and well-clad in their new gowns.  In total around twenty-five people came, only one of whom paid the ten dollar fee.

In addition to the Green Dress Exchange, students from the ETF transformed prom itself from a resource-intense endeavor to one with compostable cups, plates, and utensils, and awareness-raising about the amount of waste created by decorations and transportation to the event.

The Green Dress Exchange was the first event of its kind for the ETF, one that will definitely be repeated and expanded upon in 2012.

The Earth Task Force (ETF) is a Cottonwood Institute-sponsored program at New Vista High School in Boulder, CO designed to give student an opportunity to take the lead to implement sustainability initiatives at their school.

This article was written by Vanessa Jacks and edited by Paige Doughty.

iMatter, You Matter, We Matter

“iMatter, You Matter, We Matter. Let’s work together to make things better” 

Two thousand Colorado youth and their adult allies sang this chant through downtown Denver this past Saturday, May 14, 2011 as part of the worldwide iMatter marches organized by Alec Loorz, founder of Kids vs. Global Warming.  “The atmosphere created by this group of young, driven, and passionate future leaders was very unique and like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” said Marissa Bramlett, a senior at New Vista High School in Boulder.

Alex Goetz from Lakewood High School is a freshman at the beginning stages of organizing an ACE action team at his school. “I feel empowered from the march; it was a great idea.” He and his fellow action team students were among the eight action teams from all over Colorado who marched under a homemade ACE banner at the front of a line of approximately 2000 marchers.

We braved the drizzle and rain to hear our voices reverberate off underpasses and to cheer at the sound of honking cars as they sat at stoplights waiting for our enthusiastic bunch to pass.

Aaron Fox, a member of New Vista’s Earth Task Force, joined the march along with the rest of his Action Team in their super hero costumes and with a sign made out of completely recycled materials.

“I loved going to the march!…We, as a people, have moved from the realization of climate change to action against climate change…If youth continue to gather and become the leading voices against climate change, then I know we will succeed in maintaining a healthy, habitable planet!”

The Boulder ACE Action Team contingent, consisting of four different high schools, joined forces to take the bus down to the march, in keeping with our DOT (Do One Thing) to carpool and lower our carbon emissions. We met the other action teams, and other marchers, at Cuernavaca Park before walking the two miles to Civic Center Park. 

Josh joined his action team at Ponderosa High School just last month during earth week when ACE came to his school for a presentation. He’s become one of the club’s most dedicated members and even donned a polar bear costume for the march.

Maddie a freshman from Boulder High School, helped promote the march at her school. “I loved the iMatter march, because it was an amazing group of people that carried great energy and were all there to spread the same message, that OUR PLANET MATTERS. I was so thankful to be a part of it because, with 132 marches happening around the world, we’re making a huge impact and raising our voices to help raise awareness about climate change. It’s incredible that there are so many people out there that care, but it’s important that we work to expand that awareness and educate others on how they can make a difference. I especially think its cool that this march targeted youth, because we’re the ones inheriting the planet.”

Alex Budd, the founder of Fairview High School’s Lorax Environmental Club and one of the key organizers for the Denver march said, “The march was fantastic! But this is only the beginning. The real work begins as we take all this great energy and enthusiasm into our communities and schools, and do something with it.”

We all had an incredible time and feel energized and empowered to continue the work we have already been doing in our high schools and communities. Bobby Stokes from Lakewood High School’s action team summed it up best, “The march was a bunch of happy people doing good for the planet. It is pretty hard to believe that a 16 year old could start this.”

The Earth Task Force (ETF) is a Cottonwood Institute-sponsored program at New Vista High School in Boulder, CO designed to give student an opportunity to take the lead to implement sustainability initiatives at their school.

This article was written by Amy Atkins from the Alliance For Climate Education.

2011 Base Camp Bash A Smashing Success

The final donations are still trickling in, but we are ready to declare the 2011 Base Camp Bash a smashing success.

Because of our generous supporters, we were able to raise just shy of $44,000 to help support our 2011 programs to connect diverse youth to the outdoors. This represents close to a 110% increase from what we raised from the Bash in 2010!

The money we raised this year will help support our high priority projects in 2011, including our partnerships with West Denver Prep, Community Adventure Program, Earth Task Force, and Operation: Military Kids.

If you weren’t able to attend, you missed a phenomenal party. Gallery 1261 set the perfect scene for a fun evening out on the town and the energy was kicked up a notch with rockin’ tunes from the Tommy Shreve Trio.

Fierce cravings were satisfied by Snooze, including breakfast burritos, grill cheese and tomato soup dip for dunking. But the pièce de résistance was the smores pancakes they brought out for dessert – yum!

Intense thirst was quenched by cold beer from Denver’s own Wynkoop Brewing Company and wine from Mondo Vino. And we can’t forget our new friends at Leopold Brothers who shared samples of their impeccable Colorado spirits.

If you weren’t able to attend the Bash this year or if you want to relive the evening, check out the slide show from the event by Clicking Here.

We could not have pulled this event off without support from 5280 Magazine, Exclusive Resorts,  CoBiz Financial, The Kenneth King Foundation, the Derby Financial Group, CASI, Mile Hi Specialty Foods, Scout Cleaning and Maintenance, St. Charles Capital, Whitewave Foods, and all of our patron level donors.

Till next year!

Holy E-Waste Earth Task Force!

For a week in April the front of New Vista High School was filled with what could have been trash. The culprits: the Earth Task Force (ETF).

To celebrate Earth Day the ETF partnered with Boulder Community Computers (BoCoCo) to collect and recycle 1488 pounds of e-waste!!

The ETF e-waste drive was kicked off by an unorthodox presentation from BoCoCo during which BoCoCo founder, Eric Jackson, smashed a computer with a sledgehammer during an all-school assembly to show the materials inside. BoCoCo is a community organization that tries to educate people about how to take care of their computers so that they last longer. They also plan to have an “earn a computer” program in which volunteers can earn a computer through hours at the shop.

During Eric’s presentation New Vista definitely got the message. By the first day, the amount of e-waste in the collection area had exceeded what ETF hoped to get in a week! The various electronics overflowed the collection area and even started migrating down the hallway.

The materials being recycled ranged from old PowerBooks and microwaves to 3D projectors and lots of CRT monitors. E-waste causes huge problems in its disposal because it contains very valuable metals that are interlaced with very toxic chemicals. It is commonly shipped off to developing countries where it is broken down in unprotected conditions causing health problems. Many people don’t want to recycle their electronics because they don’t know how, and it because it costs money.

ETF and BoCoCo trucked the e-waste to Eco-Cycle’s Center For Hard To Recycle Materials (CHaRM) where they insure that e-waste is responsibly recycled. There it was weighed and came in at an impressive total of over 1,400 pounds and $446.40. Paid for jointly by ETF and BoCoCo.

The e-waste drive was an effective way to let people know that it really is easy to just take the next step and recycle the old junk in your basement instead of letting it pollute the water and earth in a landfill. It was also a shocking lesson in the electronics glut that’s being created by quickly changing technologies.

This article was written by New Vista High School student journalist Seth Blum and edited by Paige Doughty.

Celebrating True Heroes with Welcome Home Warrior

On April 9^th, 2011 the Cottonwood Institute made the trek to Divide, Colorado to join Welcome Home Warrior for their annual retreat to give back to those in the military who have spent time abroad.  Families had a chance to reunite, relax, and learn some new skills. Not only did Cottonwood Institute teach hands-on survival skills, including: outdoor shelters, nature awareness, and primitive fire building, but we also had time for some engaging, fun games bringing thrills and grins to all ages.

We had a great time with the families who joined us for the afternoon.  The kids enjoyed the games and activities and parents were grateful to see their children engaged with our teachings. Golden Bell Camp and Conference Center offered a beautiful setting where we found an aspen grove to teach and play in. Despite high winds, everyone benefited from the afternoon outdoors.

A big thanks goes out to Donna Finicle from Welcome Home Warriors for organizing the event and to the families who chose to spend the afternoon with us.  We were honored to be a part of this!

This article was written by Madeline Bachner and edited by April Pishna.