A day of community building, thoughtful discussion, and hands-on learning to start the year intentionally. Written by Iona Kelly. On January 7th, 2024 Cottonwood Institute held an Instructor Winter Training day in the beautiful Camp Patiya. It was held with a focus on our various programs and how to support the creation of opportunities for… Read more »
Scaling New Heights and Navigating Nature: AXL Academy Students’ Adventurous Winter Field Days. Written by Cottonwood Field Instructor Kira Taggart. In early December, AXL 7th and 8th graders went on their winter field days to The Spot Climbing Gym and Pelican Pond Open Space. We had two fun days where students learned the basics of… Read more »
From planning our trips to managing risks in the field, keeping students safe on Cottonwood Institute programs is our number one priority. Whether we’re taking kids on a remote 4-day backpacking trip in Dinosaur National Monument or a 0-degree windchill field day to Barr Lake State Park, instructors have to be ready for anything. That’s… Read more »
Centaurus High School held a caption contest with photos from their winter field day – scroll down to see! Post written by field instructor Camille Zwaan, and captions written by the students. Escrito en español más abajo Centaurus High School’s CAP Class set out on their winter field day trip on Wednesday, February 9th to… Read more »
Winter Staff Training with Cottonwood! Written by Teagan Papke. Check out our photos here! What does a winter staff training at Cottonwood Institute entail? A snow-stomping hoedown (or… “snowdown”); a beloved quinzhee named Quinn; lunch with hot cocoa and donuts; snowshoes and sunshine; laughter; teamwork; reflection; sharing; and a ski-in guest star appearance from Paul… Read more »
AXL’s first winter field day of the year at Staunton State Park! Check out more photos on Flickr. Written by CAP Instructor Carly Winner (Escrito en español más abajo) On January 7th, AXL Academy CAP Class set out on the FIRST winter field day of the school year! The students arrived at school after a… Read more »
Before Cottonwood Institute takes students out for winter field days, they have to practice what they preach and teach. An eager group of CI veterans and newcomers met up early on a Saturday morning, packed lunches, and then packed themselves into CI’s shiny new van and drove to Caribou Ranch Open Space in Nederland for… Read more »
After 2 relaxing snow days off from the school, the CAP students from AXL Academy couldn’t wait to spend their Friday out on an adventure at Bear Creek Lake Park for their class field day. The room was buzzing with nervous, excited energy as the group waited to pack themselves and gear into the big… Read more »
Last weekend, students from KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy (KSPA) headed out to Bear Creek Lake Park for a fun day of adventure and winter skills learning. Two sixth grade students, Janet and Josselyn, recounted the day: We met early at the school then spent a while checking out gear to make sure we had all… Read more »
While preparing the Angevine Middle School CAP class for their winter snowshoeing trip, one of the students said that if they were out in the wild they would feel nervous, like someone was going to sneak up on them. As someone who feels nothing but peace while being alone in the outdoors, this comment fueled… Read more »
