Courses
Welcome to the Courses section of our website. In this section, you will find an overview of our courses for schools and youth organizations. Check it out and we look forward to seeing you in the field with us this year!
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
Community Adventure Program: The Community Adventure Program is the core educational program of the Cottonwood Institute and the first environmental education class of its kind offered for academic credit in the Boulder Valley School District. During this ten-week class, students go on hikes, overnight camping trips, learn about and discuss local environmental issues, choose an issue to address as a class, and collaborate with other local organizations to design and implement a student-directed Action Project to positively address their issue. In 2006, we received the Colorado Alliance For Environmental Education’s Environmental Education Award for Excellence for the Community Adventure Program awarded by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Earth Task Force: The Earth Task Force is a Cottonwood Institute-sponsored program at New Vista High School in Boulder, CO designed to give student who have completed our Community Adventure Program an opportunity to continue changing the world. With the support of a Cottonwood Institute Earth Task Force Mentor, New Vista High School teacher sponsors, and the Boulder Valley School District, students and staff meet twice a week during lunch to create events to raise awareness of the school’s environmental impact. They offer creative and accessible solutions that the school, teachers and staff, and students can take to reduce their school’s environmental footprint.
Cesar Chavez Organic Gardening Project: Students camp out for the week at a local organic farm, learn about the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, practice leadership and teambuilding skills, learn about organic gardening and sustainable agriculture, and complete much-needed environmental service projects to give back to the farm and to connect with their local food source. Finally, in exchange for their service work, students will receive plants or seeds to plant their own organic garden at their home or at their organization to help feed and nourish their family or their community.
Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking: Students camp out for the week at Mission:Wolf, a wolf refuge located in south central Colorado, to learn about endangered wolves, practice wilderness survival and animal tracking skills, and complete Action Projects to help care for wolves and their habitat, which may include: food preparation for the wolves, feeding the wolves, maintaining fences, landscaping, building maintenance and construction projects, and gathering firewood.
Music Survival Project: This course is all about using music to initiate social change. Students camp out for the week, connect to the outdoors, create music together, and learn about the hard work, determination, and perseverance it takes to thrive and survive a career in the music industry. Students learn about The Slam Movement, which uses music to break down stereotypes and to express themselves in positive ways instead of through violence. They also meet local music industry professionals, create a demo CD of their music, and host a performance to give back to the community.
Operation: Military Kids Essential Survival Skills Project: During this course, we collaborate with Operation: Military Kids to serve teenagers of military families serving our country. Our military families have given so much to our country and it’s our turn to help these American heroes by providing a fun opportunity for their children to get out of the house and into the outdoors to practice survival skills, leadership skills, and complete environmental service projects to give back to the land.
Stone Age Survival Project: We will spend the week camping under the stars at Earth Knack, a stone-age living skills school in Crestone, Colorado. to learn stone-age survival skills, including: stone tools, stone knives, primitive weapons, friction fire, and shelter construction. We also spend the week completing sustainable living service projects, including: gardening, composting, fire mitigation, and green building projects, while learning how to reduce our environmental footprint in this modern age.
Three Trees and a River Project: This course helps students raise an awareness of water issues affecting Colorado and helps them understand the importance of native trees in the Colorado ecosystem. Students camp out for the week, learn about native trees, how these trees can help them during a survival situation, complete a water sampling project, and end the course with rafting trip to connect with the local watershed.
COURSES SORTED BY LENGTH:
1-Day Field Trips:
1 to 2-Day Workshops:
- Winter Survival Workshop
- Essential Survival Skills Overnight
- Mt. Evans Volunteer Project
- Survival Shelter Workshop
- Survival Fire Workshop
5 to 7-Day Courses:
- Cesar Chavez Organic Gardening Project
- Three Trees and a River Project
- Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking
- Stone Age Survival Project
- Wildland Firefighter Project
- Horse Caretaker Project
- Mountain Biking Survival Project
Quarter/Semester-Long Courses:
COMMUNITY ADVENTURE PROGRAM:This section provides an overview of our core educational program and public school initiative, including:
DESIGN YOUR OWN COURSE: This section is for schools, community organizations, or private groups that would like to create a custom course with the Cottonwood Institute based on any of the course models listed above.
To register for a course, please click the Register For A Course Today! link or call us at 303.447.1076.
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