2016 has been an incredible year and we have big plans for 2017. Here are our “Top 5 Reasons To Invest In Cottonwood Institute” for #GivingTuesday and #COGivesDay this year: 1. We are connecting students to the great outdoors: “My weekend [camping trip] was super peaceful. I enjoyed myself up in the mountains because I… Read more »
Sparkling caverns, trickling waterfalls, a troll’s den, and a bear peering through a window. Does this sound like a fairy story? Settle in while I recount the tale, Dear Reader… Once upon a time, four valiant youths left the city to seek their fortune in the mountains. They boarded a big white carriage which bore them… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute (CI) has been delivering environmental education and service learning programs for the past 13 years and we were curious: What are the CI alumni we taught years ago up to these days and how did our programs impact them reflecting back years later? So we set out to re-engage our alumni what we… Read more »
Recently, STRIVE Prep – Sunnyside Community Adventure Program (CAP) students headed up to the mountains outside Fairplay to explore the Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center. They started off the trip on a beautiful Colorado morning by stopping at Staunton State Park for a short hike. The students learned about compasses and navigation and led the way to Davis… Read more »
For Cottonwood Institute (CI), 2016 has been a wildly successful year! CI coordinated 32 programs, served 391 students, delivered 18,163 program contact hours, and over 6,700 service learning project hours. This would not have been possible without the support of generous donors who help CI connect underserved students to the outdoors and empower them to make… Read more »
We are extremely excited to release our new Cottonwood Institute video! Shot by New Orleans filmmaker, Miles Mumford, this 6 minute video does an excellent job capturing what CI does and the impact we have on our students, the community, and the environment. Help us spread the good word! Watch it, like it, and share… Read more »
The CAP (Community Adventure Program) students of New Vista High School put on their thinking caps to come up with a really unique Action Project topic this quarter: hemp! They found themselves in a peculiar place, with only one persistent student in the class knowing anything at all about this miracle plant whose uses go above and… Read more »
On Monday, Earth Task Force (ETF) held a contest, called ”Trashy” Halloween, to raise awareness about upcycling, recycling, and reuse. Each advisory classroom was required to make a costume made only of recycled materials with an environmental theme. They then competed to see who had the best and most creative costume the day of Halloween…. Read more »
For Cottonwood Institute‘s Community Adventure Program (CAP) students at STRIVE Prep – RISE, the second overnight at the Cheley backcountry outpost was a weekend packed full of new experiences. Read what one of the students had to say about their weekend below! My trip to the mountains with my class was awesome!!!! We got to do many… Read more »
Recently, the two Denver Green School Community Adventure Program (CAP) classes went on their second camping trip of the year. A group of 13 students and three leaders drove up to Cheley Outpost Camp near Allenspark and spent two days and one night learning camping skills, whittling, sawing wood, hiking, making fire, cooking and, of course,… Read more »
