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New Vista CAP Sings Their Way Through the Woods

With the school year just beginning, Cottonwood Institute‘s Community Adventure Program (CAP) at New Vista High School is back in full swing. This past weekend, the CAP class had their first opportunity to camp and hike as a group. On Saturday morning, we left New Vista for the Cheley Oupost campsites near Allenspark, CO. The group arrived… Read more »

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CAP Students Living in the Moment

Snug as a bug, students packed in among backpacks and gear, eager to see what awaited them on their new adventure.  This last weekend the Community Adventure Program (CAP) of New Vista High School headed to beautiful Cal-wood Education Center near Jamestown, CO.  They were met with snowy hilltops and sunshine bright enough to create lots of rosy sun-kissed cheeks…. Read more »

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Fire Fury and Snow Flurries with STRIVE Prep – Excel

The act of making a fire connects us back to our ancestors of more than 100,000 years ago. Huddling around a fire for warmth, sustenance and community is something that too few of us get to experience in our modern world. But on a snowy day at the end of January, in a sheltered grove… Read more »

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CAP Class Saves a Drop, Saves a Liter, Saves the World!

Setting out from New Vista High School on our overnight trips with the Community Adventure Program (CAP) this quarter, the weather wavered between clear and sunny and cool and rainy.  It was officially the last hints of summer and the start of fall fully setting in. The energy was high, as students of all different… Read more »

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Military Kids National Guard Family Overnight

The Aspen leaves just began changing, and this weekend Cottonwood Institute had the chance to see the leaves and enjoy the fall weather camping with four National Guard families in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. The group had various outdoor experience but one commonality, as one of the mom’s explained, “My family doesn’t usually camp and my husband… Read more »

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Old Friendships Shine and New Friendships Emerge

The sun shined promisingly as a group of adventurous teenage girls met in the Centaurus High School parking lot, ready for a night of backpacking in the woods. The girls knew each other from school, but still had some familiarizing to do as a group. One thing they all had in common was being part… Read more »

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Military Families Appreciate Fire, Fossils, and Fun

Every trip has that seminal moment where you realize what makes it unique from others. This holds true for our last Cottonwood Institute adventure to Sanborn Western Camps in Florissant, CO.  The sole purpose of this weekend excursion was to reach out to military families in the Denver/Colorado Springs area and provide a relaxing, fun, and… Read more »

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Casa de le Esperanza Explores Another World

A couple weeks ago, Cottonwood Institute teamed up with Casa de la Esperanza, a housing community in Longmont hosted by Boulder County Housing Authority, and engaged seven kids, one chaperon, and two Cottonwood Instructors in a weekend adventure exploring new lands.  As the bus pulled away from the city and entered the luscious green of the Boulder… Read more »

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CAP Class Builds Group Cohesion and Raises Team Morale

The Community Adventure Program (CAP) students from New Vista High School in Boulder, CO gladly scurried to the mountains for their first overnight trip of the quarter last weekend!  The group was more than ready to enjoy the CAP class outside classroom walls.  Cottonwood Institute’s CAP program provides outdoor excursions throughout the quarter where students… Read more »

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The Perfect Mix: Enthusiastic Cottonwood Institute Instructors & A Warm Sunny Winter Weekend

Cottonwood Institute (CI) headed to the mountains to explore with an enthusiastic, down-to-earth, bunch of new and well-versed instructors!  Our annual instructor training was held at Calwood Education Center outside of Jamestown, CO and was full of laughs, learning, sharing, and friendships in the making. “The CI instructor training was a wonderful reminder of why… Read more »