Experiences in Labyrinth Canyon and with Regenerative Agriculture Provided Changemakers with Opportunities to Show Grit, Growth, and Share Plenty of Laughs. Written by Changemakers Senior Instructor Chelsea Tossing. We spent our first day in Dinosaur National Monument trying to find fish scales and instead discovered a thousand similar lizards. We sat on warm rocks, crawled… Read more »
In a world where broken gear often means buying new, Changemaker students decided to take a different approach: repair, reuse, and keep it out of the landfill. As part of their spring action project, our Changemakers tackled two big issues in the outdoor industry—waste and accessibility. Outdoor gear isn’t cheap, and when it breaks, it’s… Read more »
Building Quinzhees for the Winter Overnight Kept Everyone Sheltered from the Cold. Written by Changemakers and Senior CAP Instructor Erin Angel. Changemakers met at the crack of dawn to beat ski traffic to the Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) in Leadville for our winter overnight trip. We snowshoed to our site and got to diggin’… Read more »
Leadership, Nature, and Growth on a Transformative Trip. Written by Changemaker Program Students, Lahja Wise and Iona Kelly. How can a single trip be so exciting, introspective, and informative at the same time? The only thing we know for sure is that it would not have happened without our lovely mentors, Erin And Chelsea. This… Read more »
Students Lead Frigid-Weather Gathering, Fostering Sustainability & Connection to Heritage. Written by Associate Director and Senior Instructor Chelsea Tossing. In a world increasingly dominated by technology, our Changemaker students have been craving to reconnect themselves and their community with ancestral skills. This past weekend, our Changemaker Outdoor Leadership Program welcomed 40 eager members of the… Read more »
Our high school Changemakers gathered on a unseasonably balmy weekend in January 2024 to receive their Wilderness First Aid and CPR Training from Backcountry Pulse, an amazing Latina owned small business based in Colorado. The Changemakers are developing their leadership and trip leading skills, so it is important for them to have Wilderness First Aid… Read more »
How the Changemaker Outdoor Leadership Corps Discovered Magic Stewarding Colorado’s Land. Written by Senior CAP Instructor Erin Angel. The Changemaker Outdoor Leadership Corps spent two crisp, golden days together enjoying a break from the pressures of the “real world.” We gathered under the bright autumn sun at Reynolds Ranch to work with the inspiring Ranger… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute works closely with our school and community partners to make sure that our programs meet a real community need and values student voices. Now entering its third year, the Changemaker Program engages CAP class alums through a yearlong leadership program. In 2021, students identified relationship building as our goal in response to the… Read more »
Changemakers planted willows with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers in an area that had been affected by the Cameron Peak wildfire. Written by CAP Instructor Erin Angel. Escrito en español más abajo. Changemakers began our first overnight of the 2022-23 season with service to the environment. We joined Wildlands Restoration Volunteers in replanting willows in an area… Read more »
Escrito en español más abajo. The Changemakers program took our end of the year trip to backpack through the canyons of Dinosaur National Monument. Over the course of four days, we as a group have grown closer than ever. From country roads to crunchy roads, we did it all; some of our personal highlights include… Read more »
