On belay

CAP class students spend Tuesday’s class time climbing at Thrillseeker’s climbing gym to celebrate the rapidly approaching end of the school year.  We found it a bit more difficult than it looks, but everyone was game to hit the wall, and had a lot of success pushing past some preconceived limits, and in some cases even topping out the walls.

CAP Post Course Survey, 4th Quarter 2008

As the quarter comes to a close, I wanted to get some open and honest
feedback from this class about how to improve the CAP for
future students. This information will not affect your grade, but
please take it seriously. It will be reviewed by the school, the
Cottonwood Institute, and this information will help us secure funding to make this class accessible to other
high school students. Please Click Here to Take the Survey.

Medicinal Infused Oils, Creams and Ointments

Students spent Monday and Tuesday of this week learning about, and making medicinals out of a wide variety of wild plant species.  We spent Monday working with oils, and infusing them with the medicinal properties of the herbs we used.

From left to right, (above) students infused Thyme, Lavender, St. John’s Wort, and Lemon.  Both Thyme and Lavender are "hot" infusions, with the herbs being cooked over a double boiler for 3 hours, before being strained and jarred.  The two on the right (St. John’s Wort and Lemon) are "cold" infusions, necessitating the herb remaining in the oil for upwards of two weeks.

Infused oils can be used medicinally as additives to massage oils, an aromatherapeutic addition to a bath, a topical remedy for headaches and other sprains, strains and wounds.

Tuesday was spent on creams and ointments, topical remedies for a wide range of skin maladies.  Students used Cayenne Pepper, Lemon Balm, Comfrey, Orange, and Sage.  Using techniques similar to infusing oils, students added herbs to a base (Glycerine and an emulsifier for creams, and petroleum jelly or parrafin wax for ointments), simmered over a double boiler, strained the mixture through cheesecloth and bottled the result. 

Click here for the rest of the days’ pictures

 

PS1’s Final Overnight of the Year

PS1 CAP class students spent the weekend at Taylor Mountain, camping, hiking, and learning survival skills.  With only 3 students brave enough to attend this trip, the instructors were able to delve more deeply into some complex skills, and the students responded with great interest, pushing through difficult and frustrating skills until they found success. 

Students learned to construct a debris hut, often the best short-term survival shelter, but, as we found, every skill has its drawbacks.  In a low-debris situation like the one we found at Taylor Mountain, the debris hut becomes less feasible, and we were able to discuss other options for a survival shelter.  We fudged the hut with a tarp, and Elijah, a first-time camper, showed a ton of moxy, spending the night in the hut, even as temperatures dropped into the 30’s overnight.  In his own words: "It was more comfortable than my own bed, man."

Our focus then shifted from shelter to food, and students learned and constructed the Figure 4 trap, the most basic deadfall.  One of the more frustrating tasks, aside from bowdrill, the Figure 4 tested the students’ frustration tolerance, but in the end, all were successful.  Thanks to Jessie for his assistance.

We spent the night discussing natural camouflage and stalking each other until the wee hours of the morning.  See the picture below of all of us in our natural camouflage.

Pretty effective, eh?  Day two was spent recovering from the previous nights’ exploits, and students learned about water collection and purification in a survival situation.  More traps followed, and students learned and constructed a basic Rolling Snare, and a more advanced Paiute Figure 4. 

Students closed the trip with a Wandering Quest, doing some blindfold work, and sharing in gratitude for the trip, the Earth, and for the group itself. 

Click here for the rest of the pictures

Solar Still

Class TA Jess Moneymaker taught his first of three presentations today, this one covering the Solar Still method of water collection.  Jess dug and set up a solar still in a nearby garden, and discussed the various positive and negative aspects of its use as a survival water-collection technique.  Click the ".mpg" link below to view a short movie of Jess’ presentation, and click here to view a few more pictures of the still and class.

Download MOV02753.MPG

Climate Change Studies

CAP students have spent the last few days in class learning about and discussing the causes, effects of, and remedies for global climate change.  Students spent Monday watching "An Inconvenient Truth" and will finish the film on Tuesday.  Students have spent discussion time talking about the recent cyclone in Myanmar, the week-old storm that spawned 28 tornadoes in the midwest, and today’s storms in Missouri that killed 28, and learned the connections between global climate change and the increase in severe weather.

Naturalist Studies

PS1 students spent class time today sketching the natural world around them, taking time to meticulously observe the plant structures found in the Sunken Gardens across from the school.  Students filled their journal pages with the flowers, grasses, and prairie plants found in the landscaping, and then enjoyed the great weather by joining another class in a game of football.