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!

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!

Notes From The Field: Horse Caretaker Project

Spending seven days in nature learning camping and wilderness survival skills from enthusiastic guides sounds like one heck-of-a good time.  But on July 8th, the Cottonwood Institute sweetened their course experience by throwing in a little something special (a sugar lump, if you will…okay, a BIG sugar lump): horses.

This year’s Horse Caretaker Project was located outside of Nederland, CO, and led by guides Steve McCue, Ashley Garrison and Eric Ellison.  Surrounded by the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains, the all girl course participants were able to experience a truly unique blend of horseback riding, adventure and wilderness survival. Cindy McCollum from Sundance Lodge instructed the group in the basic skills of horseback riding, caretaking, and how to load packs onto their steeds before they left for an overnight trip in the backcountry.  Between the stables and their remote camp, they helped to improve trail conditions for horses by performing several trail-maintenance projects. As the guides shared their knowledge of wilderness survival, natural shelters were raised, students learned about the local area’s ecology and each participant was able to help start a friction fire using a bow-drill.  Congratulations, ladies!  By the end of their course, the participants were able to carry out a horse caretaking service project with the Sundance Lodge stables.  Working as junior wranglers, they assisted a visiting summer program of kids aged 5-10 on a backcountry trail ride.

It was a hope of the guides to assist these adventurous young women with becoming more comfortable in the wild.  When asked how she was impacted by her experience, Centaurus High School student Belen Colin of Lafayette, CO, shared that “…in regards to the survival skills; if I were to go hiking today, I would feel safer…Not only am I more confident about going out to the wild, but I am more confident with my urban life.” For Belen, who was a recipient of a Griffith Scholarship this summer, she says the Horse Caretaker Project was “…very interesting and definitely something new.  I got more than I expected to get from it!”

Check out the Horse Caretaker Project video!