The 2013 Base Camp Bash Is Almost Upon Us!

It’s go time everyone! We’ve been training for this day all year and now it is less that two weeks away. Drum roll please…

The 2013 Base Camp Bash is almost upon us on Saturday, April 20th, 2013 from 7-10pm at Artwork Network in Denver, CO.

What is the Base Camp Bash you ask? Only the most fun and exciting event the Cottonwood Institute hosts once a year to raise money to support our programs to connect students to the outdoors and empower them to tackle local environmental issues.

Why is this one of the coolest nonprofit events ever to happen you wonder? Here are a two reasons you should drop everything and buy your tickets at the door!

1. The Best Food And Beverages Denver Has To Offer: We will be featuring “S’mores Pancakes” from Snooze, Cottonwood Organic White beer from Wynkoop Brewing Company, and great wine. For just a few more bucks you can come to the VIP party from 5:30pm – 7pm before the main event and enjoy a local cocktail tasting with mixologists from Ace Eat Serve and Steuben’s featuring spirits from Leopold Bros. and appetizers from The Kitchen restaurant.
2. A Fabulous Silent Auction: We have adventurous auction items, including: A luxurious 4-night stay to one of 20 exotic locations courtesy of Portico, outdoor gear from Mountainsmith, restaurant gift certificates to the best restaurants in Denver like Root Down, and much more! To check out what we have so far and to start bidding, Click Here.

What are you waiting for? Buy your tickets at the door!

What’s that? You have another commitment that night you just can’t wiggle out of? Well it better be a good excuse…But seriously, you will be missed, AND there are still two ways you can help:

1. You can Pre-Bid on our amazing silent auction items until Friday, April 19th, 2013 at 5:00pm. Pre-bids will open up the bidding at the main event on April 20th, so if you can’t come and you really want something, bid high! Remember, we all need to buy gifts for friends and family, so why not shop at our auction and support a great cause?
2. You can make a Tax-Deductible Donation to help support our programs for underserved students. School budgets are still being cut and the Cottonwood Institute is providing life-changing programs for underserved students in the Denver/Boulder area. All donations from the Base Camp Bash help support our high priority programs with Casa de la Esperanza, New Vista High School, Operation: Military Kids, Strive Preparatory Schools, and more.

SPONSORS:

We could not pull all this off without the incredible support of our sponsors and VIPs this year. They support great organizations like the Cottonwood Institute, so please support them!

$5,000+ Level Sponsors

$2,500 Level Sponsors:

Dr. and Mrs. John M. Church, Jr.

$1,000 Level Sponsors:

 

Anonymous, Dr. and Mrs. Stefan Mokrohisky, Dr. and Mrs. William Conway, Linda Bjork, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Zook

$500 Level Sponsors:

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Waters

A Meal for Many: New Vista High School and The Kitchen Restaurant Host Local Lunch 2011!

New Vista High School’s Earth Task Force (or ETF), held a successful (and delicious!) second annual Local Lunch on May 6th, 2011.  This special event, put on for New Vista’s 300 students, had been planned for months and turned out to be great!  ETF collaborated with the staff at The Kitchen Restaurant to create an all-local meal that raised awareness about the importance of eating local and supporting local farms and restaurants.  ETF’s intent was to educate their peers on food miles through a fun and approachable event, and nothing grabs people’s attention like excellent food!

“This is a great way to create community through the sharing of food, to connect people with the food they eat and all the hands and hearts that helped create it, and a great opportunity for high school students to collaborate with local food producers and local chefs,” said Paige Doughty, Earth Task Force Mentor.

In addition to having a locally-grown-and-made meal, students were asked to bring or rent re-usable plates and utensils to further the pro-environmentalism atmosphere of the event.  This year’s meal featured locally raised pork as a main course, beets and goat cheese, wheat-berry salad, and locally roasted and crafted chocolate…Yum!  Everyone went back to class with full bellies and good spirits, wondering what next year’s Local Lunch will be like.

A big thanks to all the producers, growers, and chefs who donated to make this event a success: The Kitchen Restaurant (we couldn’t have done it without you!!!), Farmer John’s Butte Mill Flour Company, Haystack Goat Farm, Cure Organic Farm, Whole Foods, and A Spice of Life.

The Earth Task Force (ETF) is a Cottonwood Institute-sponsored program at New Vista High School in Boulder, CO designed to give students an opportunity to take the lead to implement sustainability initiatives at their school.

This article was written by Kelly Muller and edited by Lindsey Quakenbush.

Students Take The Lead To Reduce School’s Environmental Footprint

After completing the Community Adventure Program, the Cottonwood Institute’s core program, six extraordinary New Vista High School students realized that they wanted to continue making a difference in the world even though their class had ended.

With their enthusiasm and persistence to change the world, they went above and beyond the call of duty to form a school club called the Earth Task Force. The primary goal of this student-directed club is to inspire students and their school to reduce their environmental footprint through engaging activities and events throughout the year.

The group came together this past August to come up with a game plan reduce their school’s environmental footprint. They teamed up with Ghita Carroll, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) Sustainability Coordinator, and decided to organize a professional Energy Audit paid by BVSD. After analyzing the results, students decided to focus on 3 primary areas:

•    Infrastructure: including energy and water.
•    Waste: including recycling and composting.
•    Transportation: to promote the use of alternative transportation to and from school since New Vista does not use school buses.

Listen to what the Earth Task Force had to say on KGNU 88.5FM on the Dot Org Show with Nikki Kayser by Clicking Here.

According to one Earth Task Force member, “as students in the modern world, we have taken it upon ourselves to act towards our vision of a just and sustainable world. We have dedicated many hours to plan events to raise awareness about environmental issues, and to make our vision a reality.”

Their hard work has paid off and the Earth Task Force is producing tangible results:

•    They launched a website to promote their activities, events, and initiatives: http://www.earthtaskforce.com/
•    They applied for a grant from The Earth Day Network and have since been approved to install a small solar system at New Vista High School.
•    Boulder Valley School District has agreed to sponsor the Earth Task Force at New Vista High School to be the first pilot “Green Team” and hopes to sponsor similar sustainability initiatives at other district schools.

To launch their efforts in 2010, they are planning 5 consecutive days of activities from January 25-29th, 2010 to help the school reduce their environmental footprint:

•    On Monday, January 25th, 2010 they will host show clips from three movies, including: 11th Hour, Climate Change In Colorado, and Human Footprint to help raise awareness of the environmental issues they plan to address this year.
•    On Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 they will host an “Energy Day” where they will announce energy saving tips and encourage students and teachers to take their “Green Pledge.” They will also host a “Lights Out Lunch” where they will encourage the whole school to turn off lights during lunch.
•    On Thursday, January 28th, 2010 they will launch a “bring your own mug coffee day” initiative to help reduce the number of paper and plastic cups that are thrown away every day.
•    On Friday, January 29th, 2010 the are very proud to host an “Eat Local Day” supported by The Kitchen to share the environmental benefits of eating local.

This week of events in January will help launch another series of events for the following three months. In February the Earth Task Force will tackle water and energy consumption, in March they will address waste issues and recycling efforts, and in April they will promote alternative transportation. The students will document how their efforts have helped lower the school’s environmental footprint by comparing the school’s environmental metrics with the corresponding month for the previous year. If they reach the goals they set for themselves the Boulder Valley School District will reward the group monetarily to help fund further sustainability efforts at their school.