Cottonwood Institute (CI) is excited to unveil a new equitable, transparent, and thrivable pay structure for our instructors. When I started in the outdoor industry in the late ’90s, I was working for a company that was hiring instructors as contractors and the starting pay was about $75 – $100 per day. Fast forward 25… Read more »
New Vista CAP students contemplate methods and themes surrounding fire while trying to build their own palm-sized fires. Written by Field Instructor Ruthie Cartwright. Silence. For the first time since our New Vista CAP class headed out this morning on our first overnight to Cal-wood. Silence from a group of twelve high school students. No… Read more »
Students explore perspectives from different stakeholders in the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project to understand broader water issues. Written by CI Field Instructor Amy Atkins. See more photos here! In our current polarized cultural climate, it is often difficult to empathize with people who have different viewpoints from ours. Polarization also furthers confirmation bias, an idea… Read more »
AMS students identified pants like Curlycup Gumweed along the Anne U White Trail on their fall field day with Cottonwood Institute. Escrito en español más abajo. Check out more photos here! Written by CI Instructor Tucker Knight. The 7th and 8th graders of Angevine Middle School CAP class hiked the Anne U. White Trail with… Read more »
Escrito en español más abajo. Check out more photos here! Written by CI Instructor Jessie Colin. On one of the hottest days of the year, ten Centaurus High School students, two Cottonwood Institute instructors, and one Centaurus teacher set out to the well-shaded Anne U. White trail in Boulder. Once there, we all met Ranger… Read more »
Did you know that starting in 2023, Coloradans can get a Keep Colorado Wild Pass for $29 when they register their car? This pass provides entry to all Colorado state parks and supports important conservation work throughout the state. Through Colorado Parks and Wildlife, funding from the pass will go towards state park maintenance, backcountry… Read more »
Escrito en español más abajo. AXL Academy joined Cottonwood Institute for a Friday of bug collecting and fish catching at Lake Lehow, which is a private lake owned by Denver Water and used by Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) for clinics. The group started the day in inquiry mode: what bugs live in this stream?… Read more »
Quick! You and your friends are lost on a hike, and a storm is coming! Will you survive the night? Well, Andy Seth, his family, and friends sure will! You may remember Andy Seth as our accidental auctioneer at our Base Camp Bash fundraising event the past decade or so. Andy “won” a Cottonwood Institute… Read more »
Get to know Sadie Norton (she/her), who has been a field instructor with Cottonwood Institute since the winter of 2021-22! Sadie brings light and warmth into every space (indoor or outdoor) she enters, and developed her love of experiential education at the Kent State University Outdoor Adventure Center, YMCA Camp Fitch, Outward Bound, NOLS, and… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute would like to give an enormous shoutout to Ryan Feaster of Realty ONE Group Five Star for hosting the fifth annual Harvard Gulch Tournament in 2022! We had over 96 participants come out in teams of four on the par 3 course. Throughout the 9 holes, the teams were greeted with fun games and… Read more »
