Alumni Snapshot: Chelsea Weiskerger

What do Cottonwood Institute students go on to do later in life? What are these folks doing today to feed their passion for the outdoors and the environment? Well, over the past few weeks I have been getting back in touch with Cottonwood Institute Alumni to see what they are up to. The first alumnus I spoke with was Chelsea Weiskerger, who took the Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking course in the summer of 2005. Here is what she had to say:

Q: What are you up to these days?

A: Since the course in 2005, I have been a college student (it is my third year) at Colorado State University, studying Wildlife Biology and Spatial Computer Information Systems (making maps). I have been lucky enough to work in research laboratories at CSU and do field work in Northeastern Colorado and Pingree Park, (just North of Rocky Mountain National Park).

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

A: My favorite Cottonwood Institute memories would be getting to meet Magpie and Raven at Mission:Wolf, doing volunteer work on trails and roads around Mission:Wolf, and waking up to the wolves howling every morning. It was a great trip overall!

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

A: Right now, I am most passionate about global climate change and its effects on wildlife populations into the future. That is actually the topic of my thesis for school - I am researching the effects of global climate change on bird populations on the Galapagos Islands and Hawaii, to come up with conservation plans for them in light of the potential consequences of global climate change.

The New and Improved Cottonwood Institute Website!

After many long hours and a lot of hard work, the Cottonwood Institute is excited to announce the launching of its new website!  In addition to being much easier to navigate, the site offers a variety of new features and course listings that we can’t wait to share with you.

Under the Courses Section of the homepage you will find newly designed summer programs for students such as the Mountain Biking Survival Project, where students can get dirty riding the trails of Colorado while learning important wilderness survival skills. We have also designed new 1-day workshops for Schools & Community Organizations that would like to bring a more enriching experience to their students without incorporating a full semester long class into their schedule. These include courses such as Avalanche Science the Physiology of Survival.

Have you ever wondered how much you impact the environment just by driving your car or taking out the trash? In the Community Resources Section of the homepage you can learn how to Reduce Your Environmental Footprint, fascinating Green Facts, and Sustainability Resources for the classroom and for your own personal use. Increase your awareness and knowledge of the environment and take action!

While exploring the new Cottonwood Institute website, check out the Why Us section where you can enjoy the short Videos and Photos from this past Summer Courses. And don’t forget to visit the Cottonwood Institute Store! The holiday season is upon us once again and we just might have the perfect holiday gift you’ve been looking for.

We wanted to give a special shout out to our friends at Unique Blog Designs for doing a fantastic job and to our board member Mikal Belicove for overseeing the project. Enjoy the website and we’ll see you at: CottonwoodInstitute.org!