Nature Awareness Walk

On Tuesday, August 21, we went for a walk along Cherry Creek Path in Denver. Ford Church joined us and pointed out some plants and animal tracks. Here, we took a moment to record our observations by the creek.

Web Journal Assignment #1

On Tuesday, we took a walk along Cherry Creek Path to explore our surroundings and to expand our awareness of the natural world. We learned about wide-angle vision to tap into our peripheral vision, we identified plants along the way and learned about some of their many uses, tried to identify some animal tracks, and we took a few moments to record what we saw, felt, heard and smelled. In your own words, what is nature awareness? In the context of this class, (which is a blend of outdoor skills and tackling an environmental issue in the community to help change the world) why is nature awareness important to develop?

PS-1 Pre-Course Survey, 1st Semester 2007

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, the 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.

A New Adventure

As the school year kicks off, I would like to welcome everyone to the CAP class at PS1. For the past year, I have been coordinating a similar service learning curriculum in Boulder County, where students in grades 2-12 created some great social action projects. This will be my first time teaching this particular class, and I am excited for all of the adventures that we will embark upon as a class! Not only will the students learn a great deal of new skills, but I am sure to learn many valuable lessons from them as well!

Green Facts and Resources

The Cottonwood Institute
is committed to inspiring participants to increase their awareness of
local environmental issues, environmental sustainability, and how to
reduce their environmental footprint. In order to help raise an
awareness about how easy it is to tread lightly on the planet, we have
compiled the following list of green facts and resources you can incorporate into
your daily lives.

GREEN FACTS:

• If every U.S. household replaced one roll of regular paper towels with
  100 percent recycled ones, we’d save 544,000 trees. Source: Green Life
• Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light
  bulb (energy efficient bulb) will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide per
  year. Source: Inconvenient Truth
• You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.  Source: Inconvenient Truth
• Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often. You’ll save
  one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive! Source: Inconvenient Truth

ENVIRONMENTAL MOVIES:

• 11th Hour
• An Inconvenient Truth
• The Next Industrial Revolution
• The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
• The Real Dirt on Farmer John
• Who Killed the Electric Car?

ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT CALCULATORS:

• My Footprint
• Earth Lab

ENERGY:

• American Council for and Energy Efficient Economy
• Center for Resource Conservation
• Clean and Green
• EnergyStar Program
• Green Heart Institute
• Home Energy Saver
• Inconvenient Truth
• OurEarth.org
• Renewable Choice Energy
• Solar Living Institute
• US Department of Energy program on Energy Efficiency

GREEN BUILDING:

• Center for Resource Conservation
• Environmental Construction Outfitters
• Greenprint Denver
• Jacques Environmental Services, LLC
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
• Living Space
• Syndesis

HOME/OFFICE PRODUCTS:

• Better World Handbook Shopping Guide
• Consumer Reports Greener Choices
• Eco Products
• EnergyStar Program
• Environmental Home Center
• EPA’s Alternatives to Hazardous Household Cleaners
• Fabri-Kal Greenware Cups
• Gaiam
• Green Culture
• The Green Guide
• Green Heart Guide
• Healthy Home
• Healthy House Institute
• Mother Earth News

INVESTING:

• Chittenden Bank
• ShoreBank Pacific
• Calvert Financial Group
• Domini Social Investments
• Citizens Funds
• Green Century Funds
• Neuberger Berman Mutual Funds
• New Alternatives Fund
• Parnassus Investments
• PAX World Fund
• Portfolio 21
• Powershares
• Sierra Club Mutual Funds
• Winslow Green Growth Fund

LANDSCAPING:

• Colorado Native Plant Society
• Colorado Plant Select Program
• Composting Fact Sheet
• Fertilizing the Organic Garden Fact Sheet
• Grasscycling
• Integrated Pest Management Fact Sheet
• Lawn Care and Turf Resources
• Planttalk Colorado
• Xeriscape Colorado

ORGANICS:

• Boulder Farmers Market
• Denver Farmers Market
• Organic Consumers Association

RECYCLING:

• Boulder County Recycling
• Center for Resource Conservation
• Denver Recycles
• Eco-Cycle
• National Recycling Coalition, Inc.
• National Waste Prevention Coalition
• Grassroots Recycling Network

RESTAURANTS:

• Consortium for Energy Efficiency Commercial Kitchens Initiative
• EPA EnergyStar Restaurants
• Food Service Technology Center
• Green Restaurant Association

TRAVEL:

• Conservation International Ecotravel Center
• Green Hotels Association
• International Ecotourism Society
• Sustainable Travel International

WATER:

• American Water Works Association
• Boulder Area Sustainability Information Network
• Boulder County Drought Information
• Center for Resource Conservation
• City of Boulder Water Conservation
• Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
• Denver Water
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Household Hazardous Waste Hotline: 303.441.4800
• League of Women Voters Colorado Water Protection Project
• Partners for a Clean Environment
• Spill Hotline: 303.441.4444
• Wash Project
• Water Info
• Water Saving Irrigation and Drought Management
• Water Wise Tips for Colorado Landscapes

2008 Summer Course Schedule

The Cottonwood Institute is Proud to Present its 2008 Summer Course Schedule…

The Cottonwood Institute offers co-ed Summer Courses that provide adventurous high school students and adults with the opportunity to sleep under the stars, develop essential camping and wilderness survival skills, tackle important environmental issues, explore future careers, reduce their environmental footprint, and gain the leadership skills necessary to make a positive impact in their own communities. College credit is available through Western State College for students 16 or older. Each course is limited to 12 participants and fill quickly, so Register Today!

Essential Survival Skills

This course is for adventurous adults who are interested in practicing
essential camping and
wilderness survival skills, putting their skills to the test during a
24-hour survival scenario, and completing an environmental service
project to give back to the land.  Date: May 23 - 26, 2008. Price: $495. Location: 25 miles west of Boulder near Ward, Colorado. Age: 18+ years old, unless accompanied by an adult. To register for this course, please click the Register For A Course Today! link or call us at 303.447.1076

Wildland Firefighter Project

We have the unique opportunity to work with Colorado Firecamp to learn
about fire ecology, fire behavior, receive real wildland firefighter training, and
practice wilderness survival skills, while completing much needed
wildfire mitigation projects to reduce the fuel load and fire danger in the Upper
Arkansas Valley. Date: June 14 - 20, 2008. Price: $995. Location: Near Buena Vista, Colorado. Age: 14 –
18 years old. To register for this course, please click the Register For A Course Today! link or call us at 303.447.1076

Stone Age Survival Project

We will team up with Earth Knack to learn stone-age survival skills,
including: stone tools, stone knives, primitive weapons, friction fire, and shelter
construction and complete environmental service projects, including:
gardening, composting, fire mitigation, and green building projects, while learning how
to reduce our environmental footprint in this modern age. Date: June 26 - July 2, 2008. Price: $995. Location: Crestone,
Colorado. Age: 14 – 18 years old. To register for this course, please click the Register For A Course Today! link or call us at 303.447.1076

Horse Caretaker Project

We will collaborate with Mountain Mammas Trails and Training to
practice essential camping and wilderness survival skills, basic horseback riding skills, and we will work together
to complete much-needed horse caretaking projects. Date: July 9 - 15, 2008. Price: $995. Location: 25 miles west of Boulder near Ward,
Colorado. Age: 14 – 18 years old. To register for this course, please click the Register For A Course Today! link or call us at 303.447.1076

Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking

We will work in conjunction with Mission: Wolf to learn about the
ecology, habitat, reintroduction efforts, and controversy surrounding
endangered wolves, while practicing essential wilderness survival
skills and animal tracking and completing important projects to care
for captive wolves and their habitat. Date: August 2 - 8, 2008. Price: $995. Location: Gardner, Colorado. Age: 14 – 18 years old. To register for this course, please click the Register For A Course Today! link or call us at 303.447.1076

Mt. Harvard Volunteer Project

Mt. Harvard Volunteer Project - We
are looking for a Boulder/Denver company or community organization to
sponsor the next Mt. Harvard Volunteer Project in collaboration with the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative.
We are interested in collaborating with
groups that can provide 10 -
12 adventurous volunteers and that can make a small charitable
contribution to help underwrite the costs of the project. This is a
great opportunity for a group
to build communication and teambuilding skills outside of the office
and for everyone to
walk their talk and give back to the mountains that we all use and
love. To register for this volunteer project, please contact Ford Church at 303.447.1076.

College credit is available through Western State College for students 16+ years old.

Click Here for Cottonwood Institute scholarship information.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD:

Please CLICK HERE to download a copy of our 2008 Summer Course Schedule. We are
a small grassroots organization with a limited marketing budget, so if you would be willing to print
out a copy of this flyer to post in your school, office, favorite
coffee shop, or email a copy to your friends we would absolutely love
it!

Store

Welcome to the Cottonwood Institute Store where you can shop with a
conscience! We have partnered with amazing organizations to set up an
online store so our students can get the gear they need for our courses
and visitors can shop for the holidays, birthdays, and special
occasions. Everyone can feel great about their purchases because when
you shop by clicking on the links below, a percentage of your sale goes
to help underwrite our educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area. So go crazy and shop till you drop!

COTTONWOOD INSTITUTE MERCHANDISE:

Official Cottonwood Institute Survival Kit:
Each survival kit includes A Survival Kit Manual describing how to use
each item, a custom embroidered survival kit nylon bag, a 4.5” Frosts
Mora survival knife, a trash bag, an emergency blanket, 25-feet of
parachute cord, a lighter, strike anywhere matches, a fire striker,
petroleum cotton balls, a metal cup, water purification tablets, 3 zip
lock bags, a whistle, and a signal mirror. Price: $75.00 (Add $10.00 Shipping and Handling Fee for 1-2 Survival Kits). Please Note: All
net proceeds from the sale of our Survival Kits go to help underwrite
our educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area.
To order your official Cottonwood Institute Survival Kit, call
303.447.1076 or click the "Buy Now" button below.

STORES FOR STUDENTS:

- REI
is a cooperative business that has been very supportive of the
Cottonwood Institute through financial contributions and gear
donations. REI.com sells quality gear, clothing and footwear for
outdoor recreation. All products are backed by a 100% guarantee.
REI.com customers can enjoy free shipping to any of REI’s 60+ stores
nationwide. A percentage of your purchase will help support our
educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area.

- Book Sense
is an online family of independent booksellers. When you buy a book or
gift card through Book Sense, you have the comfort knowing that you are
supporting local independent bookstores in your community, while
supporting our educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area.

- Orbitz
is a one stop shop to make your travel arrangements to participate in a
Cottonwood Institute course. Search for the lowest airline fares, book
a hotel, and even rent a car through Orbitz! A percentage of your
purchase will be donated to support our educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area.

- Kodak EasyShare Gallery
let’s you create photo albums to share with your friends and family,
purchase professional quality prints, and make cool things like photo
albums, photo mugs, and t-shirts. After completing your Cottonwood
Institute course, check our Photo Album link to purchase photos from
your course. Remember, a percentage of your purchase will be donated to
support our educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area.

STORES FOR ECO-FRIENDLY BUSINESSES, HOLIDAYS, BIRTHDAYS, AND SPECIAL OCCASIONS:

- iTunes
Everyone deserves music and with accessibility to over 1 million songs
you can’t go wrong with iTunes. iTunes gift certificates are a perfect
gift for music lovers of all ages. A percentage of your purchase will
be donated to support our educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area, so
rock out!

Giveline
- is a new way to support Cottonwood Institute when you shop online.
Giveline has over a million bestselling products, and every purchase
you make generates a significant donation to help support our
educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area. Shop
now to get FREE
SHIPPING! (Use discount code NCD07 during checkout.)

GoodSearch
- Now you can shop for just about anything through GoodSearch.com.
Enjoy shopping online with companies like: Amazon.com, Best Buy,
Travelocity, eBay, Target, Old Navy, the Apple Store, and more! Make
sure you type in "Cottonwood Institute" under the section that says
"Who Do You GoodSearch For?" and shop till you drop!

- Gaiam.com
is a local Boulder, Colorado company that is the leading Natural
Lifestyles portal to customers who value the environment, a sustainable
economy, healthy lifestyles, alternative healthcare and personal
development. Check out what they have to offer and remember that a
percentage of your purchase will help support our educational programs in the Boulder/Denver area.

Peaceful Valley Greetings
- Peaceful Valley offers high quality organic clothing and eco-friendly
gifts that make the perfect gift for the environmentally conscience
person on your shopping list. When you make a purchase through their
website, you must enter Discount Code: CWD2105 so a percentage of your sale will help support our educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area. Enjoy!

- Sierra Club
Become a member of the Sierra Club, one of the most effective
environmental advocacy organization in the US. The Sierra Club was
created in 1892 by John Muir and it is the oldest and largest
grassroots environmental organization in the US with over 625,000
members nationwide. Our Founder and Executive Director is a current
Sierra Club member and serves as Steering Committee member for Inner
City Outings, a branch of the Sierra Club that provides opportunities
for urban youth and adults to explore, enjoy and protect the natural
world. A percentage of each membership purchase will help support our
educational programs at public schools in the Boulder/Denver area.

Cottonwood Institute

OVERVIEW:

The Cottonwood Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based
in Denver, Colorado that inspires students to change the world through
an exciting blend of adventure, wilderness survival, and environmental
service. We teach students the essential camping and wilderness
survival skills necessary to comfortably and competently explore the
outdoors, while providing them with the tools and resources to tackle
important environmental issues affecting their communities. We offer
high quality service learning programs for public schools and community
organizations that address education, youth development, civic
engagement, and environmental sustainability.

VISION AND MISSION:

The vision of the Cottonwood Institute is to inspire a new
generation of young community leaders who are environmentally aware,
civically engaged, and who are empowered to make a positive impact
within their respective communities. The mission of the Cottonwood
Institute is to inspire students to change the world through an
exciting blend of adventure, wilderness survival, and environmental
service.

EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

The Cottonwood Institute achieves its vision and mission by inspiring participants:

1. To change the world and become more involved with their
   community through our award winning environmental service learning
   curriculum.
2. To increase their awareness of local environmental issues,
   environmental sustainability, and how to reduce their environmental
   footprint.
3. To develop essential camping and wilderness survival skills to comfortably and competently explore the natural world.
4. To develop life skills, including problem solving, project
   management, logistical coordination, leadership, teamwork, and
   communication skills.

WHAT THE COTTONWOOD INSTITUTE IS NOT:

Having explained what the Cottonwood Institute IS, it is also
important to explain what the Cottonwood Institute IS NOT. The
Cottonwood Institute:

• Is not a summer camp.
• Is not a wilderness therapy program for at-risk or troubled students.
• Is not intended to promote radical environmentalism or
  inappropriately influence political views or the political affiliation
  of students.
• Is not affiliated with any religious institution or belief system.
• Is not a boot camp or military-based program.

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Eric Ellison, a graduate of 5 Cottonwood Institute courses,
  recently received a 4-year $100,000 Environmental Stewardship
  scholarship to Sterling College in Vermont. Eric is an excellent
  example of the community leaders we have inspired through the
  Cottonwood Institute.
• Alys Hansen, a graduate of 3 Cottonwood Institute courses and
  several internships, was one of ten students to receive the 2007
  Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award through the City of Boulder’s Youth
  Opportunities Program.
• We received the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education
  (CAEE) 2006 Environmental Education Award for Excellence in the citizen
  and community category for the Community Adventure Program!
• In 2007, we served 668 participants, logged 1,262 participant days,
  and recorded 10,778 contact hours with students through our
  award-winning educational and outreach programs. This represents a 68%
  increase over participants served compared to last year.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

• Cottonwood Institute educational programs combine service
  learning, environmental education, and wilderness survival skills to
  empower students to become active citizens and future community
  leaders. Students learn how to break out of the cycle of cynicism and
  act within the cycle of hope by increasing their awareness of the
  natural world, practicing outdoor skills, learning about environmental
  issues, and by gaining hands on experience to do something positive to
  address those issues. Because students self-select themselves into our
  programs and because our environmental service-learning projects are
  student-directed and not forced by teachers or adults, students have
  ownership in their project and are more empowered to do the best they
  can to address their issue. Students learn how to take the life skills
  and experience they acquire, including project management, leadership,
  communication, and teamwork, and apply this to other systemic issues
  facing their communities.
• There is growing data, especially through Richard Louv’s book: Last
  Child in the Woods: Protecting our Children from Nature Deficit
  Disorder, that suggests programs, like those offered through the
  Cottonwood Institute, may help reduce the symptoms of Attention Deficit
  Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), improve cognitive abilities, stimulate
  creativity, reduce stress and depression, and address childhood
  obesity. The Cottonwood Institute is committed to making all of their
  educational programs accessible to public high school students and is
  seeking to develop partnerships with individuals, businesses, and
  foundations to help underwrite the costs of our educational programs.

HISTORY OF THE COMPANY:

The Cottonwood Institute was
founded by Ford Church, M. A. in September 2004. The idea for the
Cottonwood Institute came from his passion for the outdoors, his
commitment to the environment, his love for inspiring the youth of
America, and from his interest in giving back to the community. In
2003, Ford received a Master’s degree in Adventure Education from
Prescott College and created the Community Adventure Program as a
culminating project of his thesis. The Community Adventure Program has
been implemented at New Vista High School in Boulder, Colorado since
October 2003 and based on the success of the program and requests for
more programs from parents and students, Ford founded the Cottonwood
Institute and their summer programs approximately one year later.

STAFF:

To learn more about our Executive Director, Board Members, Advisory Board Members, and Instructors, Click Here.

HOW YOU CAN HELP THE COTTONWOOD INSTITUTE THRIVE:

The Cottonwood Institute is currently raising money to help
underwrite our educational programs through public schools and
community organizations in the Boulder/Denver area. To make a
tax-deductible financial contribution to the Cottonwood Institute and
to help transform the lives of high school students, please make all
checks or money orders payable to Cottonwood Institute and mail your
donation to PO Box 7067, Denver, CO 80207. For more information, click
on the Donate Online Now! link.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ford Church, M. A., Founder and Executive Director
303.447.1076
Email

Download a copy of our Cottonwood Institute Information Sheet and share it with your friends and colleagues.

Welcome to the Community Adventure Program at P.S.1

Gardening and Composting Action Project, 4th Quarter 2007

We decided that for our Action Project, we would create a Greenhouse and Composting System for New Vista High School. We thought this would be a good thing to do because, after we are all gone from NVHS, future students would have a CE or Workshop that focused on the concepts of composting and growing that a greenhouse could provide.

In order to set up this resource, however, we had to do a lot of legwork in the community. We contacted professional growers and gathered their advice on what kind of greenhouse to build and what type of operation to run. The following are some of the people we spoke with:

• We met with Growing Gardens, a community gardening project and facility in North Boulder. They were very helpful in explaining to us the different types of greenhouses and composting systems.
• We also met with Cyndra Deitz, Eco-Cycle’s School Recycling and Environmental Education Program Director, who instructed us what type of composting system would work best for the scale of our project
  as well as the potential future applications of our program.
• Boulder Compost Company owner and operator Eric Simenson was kind enough to share his knowledge of “vermiposting,” which is composting using the help of worms. He brought in some bins to demonstrate the process, and he also gave us a great plan for building our own worm composting bin and system.
• Bryce Brown, founder of Our Love of Children Foundation, spoke to us about the project at Creekside Elementary where the school garden is used to augment school lunch for students. He shared visions of what a school garden could grow into and got us all very excited to continue our project.

In addition to speaking to professionals in the community, we also were given a huge amount of support from local businesses interested in our project.

• ReSource, a sustainable building supplier using recycled construction and building materials, donated ANY materials we could find in their yard for absolutely FREE. This was really great and it made us see that some businesses really do practice what they preach.

• McGuckins Hardware was very supportive in their donation of $120 of building supplies towards the creation of our greenhouse and composting system. Again, we were surprised by these local businesses’ belief in our action project.

Ultimately, we spent over seven weeks getting the logistics together so that this greenhouse could be built. It is with great enthusiasm that we are passing on this project to future CAP classes and look forward to seeing the structure up and running soon!