New Vista High School Community Adventure Program 2008 Student Testimonial Video

The Cottonwood Institute wants to share with you a recently produced video where New Vista High School students talk about their experience in the New Vista High School Community Adventure Program class and describe their action projects.

This video was created, directed and produced entirely by the New Vista High School Community Adventure Program! The music is even written by New Vista High School student Jeremy Bacon.

We encourage you to visit our YouTube page and comment on this video.

The Cottonwood Institute truly appreciates your continued support. This video is a testament to the value of your contributions! Thank you for your support of youth service.

Nonprofit Marketing and Development Internship Position Open!

The Cottonwood Institute is looking for a Nonprofit Intern support our Director of Marketing and Development. The Cottonwood Institute is a 4-year old non-profit based in Denver, Colorado. We are looking for an entrepreneurial self-starter who is interested in helping a young non-profit succeed in a competitive market, while building an impressive portfolio before entering the job market.

The Nonprofit Intern will work closely with the Director of Marketing and Development to help refine and execute the responsibilities for marketing our educational programs and assisting in the development of funding initiatives for our organization. A majority of the work for this internship may be completed off-site if the candidate has access to a computer with internet access. The Nonprofit Intern will also attend strategic community events and conferences throughout the year to help promote the Cottonwood Institute and our educational programs. There may be opportunities for skilled Interns to consult with the Cottonwood Institute as an instructor and receive payment for teaching courses. For more information about job openings with the Cottonwood Institute, Click Here.

Survival course might be music to your ears!

On May 5th, the Denver Post (click to read article) printed a short paragraph highlighting our partnership with musician Jack Johnson, All At Once and an organization called Reverb. Deeply rooted within the music and environmental communities, Reverb educates and engages musicians and their fans to promote environmental sustainability.

As many of you have heard through our outreach efforts, the Cottonwood Institute will be auctioning tickets off to support our Griffith Scholarship Fund for students to attend our Summer Courses. Also, we have been granted the opportunity to recruit 10-15 volunteers to educate concert goers at the August 17, 2008 Red Rocks show on ways they can reduce their environmental/carbon footprint. All the volunteers will see some of the show as a thank you! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Jamie S. Dent and you will be entered into a raffle. You can learn more about our partnership and this volunteer opportunity by listening to our Entercom Radio show podcast. There is more to come!

New Vista High School CAP Program in the Daily Camera Today!

On Wednesday, May 8, 2008, the Boulder newspaper, Daily Camera, ran an article highlighting the amazing innovations in volunteering and eating ecologically that the students of New Vista High School in Boulder, CO have identified and planned a project around. These students are part of the Cottonwood Institute’s Community Adventure Program (CAP) class that is taken during the school day by New Vista students. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"With summer fast approaching, New Vista High School students just
don’t want to stay inside. This week, students in one class are
spending their daylight hours out of the classroom, getting their hands
dirty in the real world.

As part of their Community Adventure Program class, students spent
Tuesday planting potatoes at the Abbondanza Organic Seeds & Produce
farm in Lafayette."

To read the entire article, please visit the Daily Camera website here. We encourage you interject your reaction on our blog or at the bottom of the Daily Camera article if you have a username and password for the Daily Camera website.

The Cottonwood Institute is looking to expand our Community Adventure Program into new high schools during the 2008-2009 school year. If you would like to begin a conversation about bringing this program into your school, please contact Ford Church at 303.447.1076.

New Dates: Essential Survival Skills

The Cottonwood Institute is proud to feature its Essential Survival Skills course for adults. This four day action-packed course is designed to teach participants how to stay alive during a real survival situation. Throughout the four days, we will hike to a base camp and practice nature awareness skills, minimum impact camping techniques, natural shelter construction, and starting fires using primitive and modern methods. We will also participate in a 24-hour survival scenario to put our skills to the test followed by a debriefing of the scenario and discussion about long-term survival considerations. Lastly, we will complete an environmental service project to give back to the land. This course will take place from October 2 - 5, 2008 near Nederland, CO and is for those eighteen years and older. If you don’t have what it takes to survive, but want to learn, register for this course today!

Cottonwood Institute Interview on Entercom Radio’s Public Affairs Show May 4

The Cottonwood Institute was interviewed by Entercom Radio’s wonderful and environmentally conscious Jill West during her Colorado Today Public Affairs radio show on Sunday, May 4th, 2008. Ford Church, Founder and Executive Director, Jamie S. Dent, Director of Marketing and Development, and Andrea Jensen, Community Adventure Program Instructor had the opportunity to talk about our organization’s history, our 2008 Summer Courses, the Community Adventure Program, our upcoming volunteer opportunities and our views on the environment. 

We also want to thank The Mountain’s Robbie Knight for helping us set up this interview and for her commitment to the environment through the Green Report.

Please Click Here to play the podcast! We encourage your comments and feedback.

2008 Base Camp Bash

The Cottonwood Institute’s 3rd Annual Base Camp Bash fund raising event was a total success! We partied the night away with great music, great conversation, and some awesome silent auction items. We would like to thank the Wynkoop Brewery for hosting this memorable event and to all of you for your support in helping us raise over $18,000 dollars to help underwrite the Community Adventure Program at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area and to help raise money for our Griffith Scholarship Fund for students to attend our 2008 Summer Courses. Be sure to check out the Bash photos at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=523fs2n.am38pyy7&Uy=efjwxn&Upos