Save The Date: Canvas & Cocktails

SIGN UP FOR CANVAS & COCKTAILS: TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010 AT 6:30pm

Unleash your inner artist and join us at Canvas and Cocktails in Cherry Creek on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 6:30pm. We will enjoy a cocktail, paint Van Gogh’s Starry Night with step-by-step guidance, and raise money to support our Operation Military Kids Essential Survival Skills Project. Canvas and Cocktails was just recognized in 5280 Magazine’s “Top of the Town” issue, so rally a group of friends or make it a date night and come have a blast! The cost is $40 per person and 25% will support the Cottonwood Institute. Space is limited, and no experience is required, so reserve your spot today by Clicking Here.

Cesar Chavez Organic Garden Project A Success!

The Cesar Chavez Organic Gardening Project with the I Have A Dream Foundation “Dreamers” was a great success.  Our group camped out for three gorgeous evenings at Sunrise Farm, just west of Loveland, CO on a secluded hillside above their organic farm and living community.  The campsite was complete with ponderosa pines, prickly pear cacti, and an area called the “moon rocks,” providing a perfect setting for the trip, which focused on practicing wilderness skills, learning about organic farming, and the life Cesar Chavez.

The folks at Sunrise were great hosts and intrigued us with discussion around the ecological importance of sustainable agriculture.  They really got us thinking about the amount of pollution, water, and fossil fuel that it takes to maintain our current industrialized agricultural paradigm.  Seeing their way of farming provided our group with a hopeful perspective on the complex issue of modern food production.

In return for their hospitality and teaching we spent about 35 total ‘people hours’ planting and harvesting herbs and vegetables in their permaculture garden where we learned experientially about this unique form of agriculture where virtually nothing is wasted!

When we weren’t working side-by-side with the farmers we practiced survival skills such as natural shelter making, various fire-building techniques, and sensory awareness activities near our wooded hillside above the farm. Not only may these skills help save our lives someday, they also are super fun to practice and helped us strengthen our connection to the outdoors we want to help protect and preserve.

At night we cooked delicious dinners together and used our newly acquired fire-building skills to create a fire where we had rich discussions about the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, including his core values of acceptance of all people, importance of service to others, and the value of hard work, as well as the impact he had as an organizer for the farm-workers of the United States Southwest.

To check out a slide show of the project, Click Here.

A special thanks goes out to our partners for this project, including: Rigo Tostado and Jen Doyle from I Have A Dream Foundation for rallying a group of amazing students to work with, Kristin Maharg and Brandon Jones our Cottonwood Institute Instructors for facilitating a great course, and Patrick Padden at Sunrise Farm for teaching us about organic farming and sustainable agriculture. This project would not be possible without support from our funders, including: Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County Expanding Leadership Initiative, Mile Hi Foods, New Belgium Brewing Company, and Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods 5% Day: Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Mark your calendars for next Wednesday, July 14, 2010 and join us at the Whole Foods Westminster Store to shop for fresh groceries for the week while supporting our Cesar Chavez Organic Gardening Projects this summer. The Whole Foods Westminster Store is generously donating 5% of sales that day  from 9am – 9pm. The Westminster Store is located at: 9229 N. Sheridan Boulevard, Westminster, CO 80031. Please spread the good word to friends and family and we look forward to seeing you there!

And The Award Goes To…

This has been a phenomenal year for the Cottonwood Institute and we are so proud of everything our students have accomplished. But don’t take our word for it, let the awards speak for themselves:

CITY OF BOULDER OUTSTANDING YOUTH VOLUNTEER AWARD:

Every year, the City of Boulder, through the Youth Opportunities Advisory Board, recognizes 10 outstanding youth who go above and beyond to make a positive contribution to their community. Two Community Adventure Program alumni, Zander Deetz and Aaron Fox, won the 2010 Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award for their involvement with the Earth Task Force at New Vista High School to help reduce their school’s environmental footprint. To learn more about the accomplishments of the Earth Task Force, check out our previous articles: New Vista Flips The Solar Switch and Students Take The Lead To Reduce Their School’s Environmental Footprint.

BOULDER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT’S HONOR ROLL:

Finally, the amazing accomplishments of the Earth Task Force were also recognized by Boulder Valley School District through the Superintendent’s Honor Roll. The Superintendent awarded each member a certificate and recognized the Earth Task Force at the beginning of the Boulder Valley School District’s April 21, 2010 Board of Education meeting. According to Superintendent Chris King, the Earth Task Force at New Vista High School was recognized for their “outstanding contributions toward meeting BVSD’s goals as outlined in the BVSD Sustainability Management System or SMS.”

2010 RIPPLE EFFECT AWARD:

Each spring, we take a moment to recognize all of the amazing Action Projects that our students take on each year to help initiate positive change in their schools, in their communities, and for the environment. We hosted our 2010 Ripple Effect Awards at the REI Boulder Store on Friday, May 21, 2010. Attendees evaluated and voted for the 2009 Action Project that had the biggest impact and selected Bees, Buildings, and Bites as the 2010 Ripple Effect Award winner! We also want to thank Old Chicago for donating pizza, Folsom Street Coffee for donating tea, and Bryan Buikema from Cracker 8 Projects for designing and creating this beautiful award, which will be on display at New Vista High School.

Dancing Fruits and Veggies Sighted at Exhibition Day!

The 4th quarter 2010 CAP class went out with a bang! Students chose food miles, and raising awareness about solutions to this issue, as their action project topic.. The class spent their action project week volunteering at farms, planting a square foot garden plot for tomatoes at their home garden, creating educational displays about how to eat in season, and preparing an amazing multimedia presentation for their whole school titled “The Imported Food Blues.”

The Imported Food Blues was composed by Lisa, costume design was completed by most of the class (with Mel in the lead) and the educational photos were taken and edited by Gracie and Alex. Everyone helped with the displays and the volunteering. Check out the photos and quotes below for an idea of what students did and learned this quarter in CAP!

Overall, the Community Adventure Program at New Vista taught me many things. These things are not just knowledge about the topics discussed, but knowledge of how to be a better person and how to live in our ever-changing world. It has not only opened my eyes, but my mind as well to help make our planet and our lives better.
~ Josh Smith

Through this process of doing the Action Project I learned more than I thought I would. Before this class I always said I wanted to help our community, but I never actually knew how to go about doing this. I also felt that by being a high school student my help would be turned away by un-trusting adults. Now, I know that people are very gracious of anybody who is dedicated and willing to lend a hand. I have more faith in people now, and I understand that I can make a difference even though I am only one person. That fact makes me a very happy person. ~Maddy Green

Through CAP I have seen a change in myself. This class gives character, no it builds character. It teaches you to rely on yourself but at the same time trust in others. It shows you that you can have bundles of fun without the use of substances, and it’s more fun in life without them. Some of the games we played I showed my younger brothers, when I come home they ask me to play! I am so glad that I got into this class, taking it was one of the better decisions I have made and I will have these memories, skills, and attitudes forever. ~ Leesa Esterline

We made a difference in our community. We rose above and saw what the actual problem is, and how it is broken down into many problems. I have started to recycle everything that I possibly can, I ride the bus to school, and ride my bike to the stop. I never use Styrofoam ever. All these are small steps, but if I continue with these steps, a difference will be made. I hope to continue being environmentally friendly and to use what I learned in the future to help show other people how to make a difference. We need to be aware. CAP helped me learn this, to realize that we need to change in positive ways. I hope to take this class again and again. I also hope to go on my own camping trips and use the skills I have learned. CAP was a life-changing experience for me. ~ Mel Vellinga

Like always [this was Keelan's third time in CAP] this class has been a beautiful experience. I never get tired of the learning process I go through each time. These things I’ve learned are things that I will never forget, probably for the rest of my life. I think that if more people learn what I have, then the world will be a much better place. i can only hope that CAP continues in the future and provide for others what it has for me–True understanding and a love for that understanding. ~Keelan Sears

I feel pretty privileged to have been able to take CAP. I can do so much with what I’ve learned to help our environment. Even if it’s just telling my dad when we go shopping what we should buy because it’s locally grown. Even though we didn’t focus on bees for our action project, I find that I’m way more accepting of them and the way their lives work. I feel like if every school in Colorado alone had the opportunity to offer CAP as one of their elective classes we could achieve so much. I plan on taking what I learned and making other people aware.             ~Jen Arguello

In conclusion I think that CAP is such an awesome program to have. I am so grateful and happy I got the chance to be a part of it. I will continue convincing people to join so that they too can have the experiences I have. It has just taught me so much about the world. For me I loved this program so much because I bonded with awesome people. I learned and did a lot of things that not everyone gets to do and I learned about environmental problems and how to look at and solve them. Really that is all so important to me. Thank you so much Paige for being my teacher the last two years and helping me learn such important lessons. ~Remy Barrows-O’Neal

It’s not so much that this class really changed my views on the environmental issues of my community and the world, it’s more that this class educated me about what they are I can do about them. Also that even as a teen I have a voice in my community. ~Daisy McGuire

The CAP class has been so much fun and I’m really happy I got to take it while Paige was teaching it. If I reviewed everything I learned in this class, I would probably take up a whole page, but for now I’ll just state broad topics: environmental issues in Boulder and around the world, how to work with my classmates to get things done, how to keep peers on task, survival skills, and how to help myself and the community become more ecologically friendly. During this class I have become more optimistic about solving environmental problems and now all that needs to happen is to publicize these issues. This class has been a fantastic experience and I will use the knowledge I have taken away from it! ~Kelly Muller

To be perfectly honest at the beginning of CAP I was expecting to hate it. am not an outdoorsy type, I didn’t really like gardening or learning what was going on in the world, I would rather have stayed oblivious. After taking the class I am so happy that I did, I have learned so much and I enjoyed it a lot. During school it was the highlight of my day. I’ve learned that I actually love gardening and being outdoors. I will definitely take this class again in the future. ~Quianna Swing

Ghandi said “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” I really like that quote some people doubt themselves with making ecological choices because they don’t think taking an extra step for mother earth is really going to do anything, but I think it is absolutely 100% important. I”m glad I I can take what I learned in CAP and pass it on to my mother who will pass it on to her friends and hopefully will start a chain reaction of earth-conscious people. This class has done things for me I never expected it would and I’m really glad I took it and will be sure to pass it on to others. ~Gracie Currier-Tait

Usually I feel like what we learn in school is about something far away or unrelated. But the issue of food miles really hit home for me because it’s something we can take action on. This class was one of the best ones of taken at New Vista. It’s something so unique in our school. Even though it wasn’t a core academic class I feel I’ve learned more in this class than any others, and they are all things I can use in my life.~Joe Regur

Three Trees and a River Project Was Quite A Ride

After braving the rain and thunderous skies this spring, the final phase of our Three Trees and a River Project was quite a ride. We collaborated with Front Range Earth Force, students from Gilpin E-8 Montessori School in Denver, CO, and the Garden Club of Denver to plant native trees at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield to help restore habitat for local wildlife. Students and volunteers worked diligently to plant whips and young saplings into the moist, muddy ground. We marked our trees with a dedication so we could return in the future to check on the progress of the trees we planted.

After an afternoon of practicing survival skills and camping under the stars, the excitement of their final trip together was yet to come. The next day, students teamed up with City Wild for an experience of a lifetime by rafting down the sometimes gentle, sometimes thrilling current of the South Platte River. Although they floated away with some initial trepidation, students ended the trip with new found courage, respect for the water, and smiles that could not be erased for days.

From water monitoring in the fall, surviving in the wilderness during the fall and spring, planting trees, and racing down rapids, students came away from this experience with a new respect for nature, the skills to explore the outdoors again, and the knowledge to protect it for future generations. Although there wasn’t one particular moment that stood out above the rest, the teamwork and support we saw in all of the students was impressive. The ability they had to overcome their fears as they learned to trust themselves was phenomenal. The positive attitude and sense of pride that emanated from each and every student as they said goodbye and walked back to the van wishing there was more time to do it all again, spoke much louder than words could ever express.

To relive the adventure of the Three Trees and a River Project, check out our latest movie and share it with your family and friends by Clicking Here.

A very special thanks goes out to everyone who made this pilot project possible, including: REI and Mustache 4 Cash supporters for funding the project, Front Range Earth Force and Gilpin Montessori E-8 School for organizing the students to work with, and the Garden Club of Denver, the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, and City Wild for helping us execute the project. If you are interested in helping us scale and replicate this project with other public schools in the future, please contact Ford Church at 303.447.1076.

Related Links:

• To check out a photo gallery of our spring trip, Click Here
• To read about our fall water monitoring project, Click Here
• To read about our success of our fall survival overnight trip, Click Here

Adventurous Courses For Students and Adults This Summer!

We are excited to offer two adventurous courses for students and adults this summer. Spaces are limited to 12 students and are filling up fast, so register today!

COURSES FOR ADULTS:

Essential Survival Skills Overnight For Adults: June 12 – 13, 2010. 5280 Magazine recently recommended this course in a feature article about 52 Amazing Weekend Getaways this summer. This course is limited to 12 people and, at this point, there are only 4 spaces left! For more information, to register, and to check out a new video about this course, Click Here or call 303.447.1076.

Sunrise Century: July 24, 2010. Join Team Cottonwood Institute to volunteer for a 100 mile bike race that is becoming known as the “Boulder Boulder” of cycling. For each volunteer we get to help with the event, the Cottonwood Institute will receive a donation to help support our educational programs. Organize a group of friends and join us for a few hours of volunteer work in Boulder! For more information or to register, call 303.447.1076.

Mt. Evans Volunteer Project:This 2-day weekend project is a free volunteer opportunity hosted by the Cottonwood Institute to walk our talk and give back to the mountains each summer. Date: August 6-8, 2010. This course is limited to 12 people. For more information Click Here or to register call 303.447.1076.

COURSES FOR STUDENTS:

Cesar Chavez Organic Gardening Project: June 9 – 12, 2010. Students camp out at a local organic farm, learn about the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, practice leadership and team building skills, learn about organic gardening and sustainable agriculture, and complete much needed Action Projects to give back to the farm and to connect with their local food source. For more information, to register, and to check out a new video about this course, Click Here or call 303.447.1076.

Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking For Teenagers: July 6 – 12, 2010. Get out of the house this summer for an adventure of a lifetime by spending a week camping under the stars, learning about wolves, and completing Action Projects to care for  the wolves and their habitat. This course is limited to 12 students and we have a few spaces left. For more information, to register, and to check out a new video about this course, Click Here or call 303.447.1076.

CAP Post Course Survey, 4th Quarter 2010

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 your 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.

Help The Cottonwood Institute Receive $5,000!

With the click of a button, you can help the Cottonwood Institute receive $5,000 from the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County by helping us win the 2010 NOVA Award to support the Earth Task Force at New Vista High School next year!

To vote, click: http://www.commfound.org/nova/2010 and mark Cottonwood Institute as your first choice.

Please spread the good word, email this out to your friends and family, and post the link on Facebook. Please Note: You can vote more than once!

2010 Ripple Effect Awards

As the school year comes to a close, the Cottonwood Institute is excited for our 2010 Ripple Effect Awards on Friday, May 21, 2010 from 7-8:30pm at the REI Boulder Community Room located at 1789 28th Street in Boulder, CO.

Students, parents, community members, and donors will gather to celebrate the Action Projects our students put together the past year to initiate positive change in their schools, their communities, and in the environment.

Join us for food, beverages, and giveaways, and get ready to be blown away by the amazing projects our students have initiated in the Boulder/Denver area. Best of all, you will get to vote on the Action Project which had the biggest impact, which will receive the coveted Ripple Effect Award sculpture made from repurposed materials by local sculptor Bryan Buikema!

Please RSVP for this event by emailing April Pishna by Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 so we know how many people to expect.

“We never know how the impact of our actions may ripple out. We never know who may be touched. That’s one more reason why, although the fruits of our labors can’t always be seen, they matter immensely.” – Paul Loeb