Welcome to the CAP Club!

Welcome to the CAP Club Blog!

Hello!! Welcome to New Vista High School’s NEW CAP (Community Adventure Program) Club! I’m so excited things are finally getting rolling. Not so long ago we didn’t even know what CAP Club was going to be, and now we’ve not only figured out our purpose, but some great activities, too!

So, wait; back up. Who is this ‘we?’ Well, ‘we’ are the three founding members of CAP Club; Hannah, Zander and me, Josie (you’ll be hearing from mainly me online).

All three of us have taken the CAP class before; Hannah and I were in the 1st quarter class, and Zander was in the 2nd. Hannah and I first collaborated to begin the CAP Club at the beginning of 2nd quarter, and Zander joined us a few weeks after. We all loved the CAP Class and wanted to continue CAP after we had finished it.

We have officially decided on our roles for CAP Club, and they are as follows: Hannah is the action of the CAP Club; the public speaker; outgoing and spirited. Zander is the Alternative Transportation Day guy; he always has great ideas and makes them happen. I (Josie) am the voice; the writer, the shy genius (humble I am not). If you’re looking for specifics in any of these categories, talk to the person who knows the most about them. (You can always ask any of us about anything relating to the CAP Club though, of course.)

And now that you know a bit about us, I can explain what CAP Club is all about!

CAP Club aims to inform peers about environmental problems and, more importantly, how to fix them. It is also a great place to start actively bringing about environmental change. But, and this is very important, CAP Club is FUN! It’s not a club that just talks and talks and gets nothing done — it’s a place where kids who want to help the environment can join together and talk, be active and simply enjoy the outdoors. Also, since this club is just getting started, anyone who wants to help shape it will be welcomed! We are always looking for fresh insight.

CAP Club has meetings biweekly, and every single time we meet will not be empty talk, but an event, whether it be hiking, learning at a how-to clinic or a mini Action Project (if you don’t already know, in the CAP Class kids do the Action Project to help the environment/community on an environmental subject, such as water or air pollution). We really hope to have had events in each category by the end of the year, because too much of one thing becomes dull and repetitive.

WE ARE HAVING AN INFORMATIONAL MEETING ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 29th IN ROOM 202 AT LUNCH!!! PLEASE come, even if you are only slightly interested. I have had word that there will be food there, so don’t worry about going hungry. And if you have any questions about CAP Club, ask them on Thursday or respond to this blog! We’ll be happy to answer them as best we can.

That’s it. Thanks a bunch for reading my novel above, and I hope to see you guys soon!

~ Josie

Did you know that…

Did you know that…

• 115 pounds of newspaper is the equivalent of one tree?
• Paper makes up about 34 percent of our garbage– the largest chunk?
• In Boulder you can now recycle plastics numbered 1-7, but only if the plastic is a certain shape?
• There are many other things you can recycle, like plastic bags, if you take them to the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials or CHARM?
• Metal, like steel and aluminium, can be recycled and infinite number of times, while most plastic can only be recycled once?
• That aluminium is mined from beneath the rain forest?
• That if you recycle the “wrong” materials the whole lot of recycling goes to the landfill??

This is just some of what we learned last week when eco-cycle’s Alycia Bouyounan came to visit CAP.

We also learned that New Vista High School students have A LOT to learn when it comes to where their garbage goes, what can and cannot be thrown away and what isn’t trash at all! Check out the photos from  our trash audit!

We found more after this photo was taken: a granola bar, and a pack of cookies.

Much of what we found could have been composted, but composting isn’t slated to arrive at most high schools for at least two years. Meanwhile landfills are filling… could this be a job for CAP kids, stay tuned…

What does it all mean?? 1st Web Journal 3rd quarter

  We’ve seen the impact of the “Average” American footprint on the planet, it doesn’t look good.

We’ve hiked to Chautauqua to begin to learn our natural world, and to look at the environmental issues faced by Open Space and Mountain Parks in Boulder

We’ve read a report on Boulder County’s environmental strengths and weaknesses.

We’ve also begun to examine our place in the natural world and ask some challenging questions: how do humans fit into the picture? What are our responsibilities? How do we make change? Should we?

For your first Web Journal please use your notes from our class discussion, What Does it All Mean? To answer the following questions:

1. What does it all mean to you?

• Do you feel inspired, hopeful, overwhelmed?
• Use specific examples from what we have done in class to give an idea of what you are thinking about all this information. 

Welcome 3rd Quarter CAP

Third quarter–winter CAP– is here!

This week we’ve been hiking, getting to know each other and our local environment, playing in the beautiful snow, and… more coming soon.

“No problem is insurmountable. With a little teamwork, courage, and determination, a person can overcome anything.” –Peter Scott.

CAP Pre-Course Survey, 3rd 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.

Students Clean up Creek as Part of Action Project!

Creek Clean up!

Drain full of trash

Levi reaches for some trash!

Some of your thoughts on the project:

“I’m hoping to make a difference not only by reducing my own footprint, but by multiplying the beneficial actions. I am hoping to do this through CAP Club and I aim to initiate a system that really encourages people to participate. I love to learn, especially about things that are my generation’s challenge to solve.”

                        ~Zander Deetz (11^th grader).

 

 “The amount of work that was put into this project was amazing. The video that we made will be a huge success for everyone in the CAP class. I am very glad that this project went well and no one had a sour attitude towards it. Because of this we were able to make something so great. I thank everyone in my class. It was so nice to do something for the environment. I learned many things in this class that I would not learn in any other class including group skills and problem solving skills.”

                                                                           ~Levi McIntire (9^th grade).

 

“Once the class had all the plans in place we worked very well and efficiently.  With all this hard work we accomplished everything I expected to get done. I am pleased with the result of our educational video. We did a very good job with the project. As a citizen of Boulder County I feel like I have always known a good amount about important environmental issues. Now that I have taken this CAP class I feel like almost an expert on a few specific issues. Having done this research I feel much more obligated to continue helping out to solve water problems.”

                                                                        ~Alex Stern (12^th grade).

 

“Another important part of this class is the action project, we chose water issues. We decided to make a motion picture to educate the public about the impact of bottled water on the environment, and how to conserve water in our arid climate. At first, I felt like there was not much we could do, but as time went on I realized that we could do a lot, and just because we are high school students doesn’t limit the amount of influence we have on other people. I feel it is our role to take more action in the community.”

                                                                        ~Scott Collins (10^th grade).

 

 

Thanks for a great quarter and I look forward to seeing you around school!

Paige