People often ask me about the impact that Cottonwood Institute programs are having and I am reminded of a quote by Paul Loeb that we share with students at the end of our programs: “We never know how the impact of our actions may ripple out. We never know who may be touched. That’s one… Read more »
After a wildly successful inaugural year, the Cottonwood Institute‘s Earth Task Force at New Vista High School is taking on a new challenge this year to host Boulder Valley School District‘s first student-directed environmental summit called Students Understanding Personal Environmental Responsibility, also known as the S.U.P.E.R. Summit. High school students and teachers from all over… Read more »
To help launch the Cottonwood Institute‘s year-long Three Trees and a River Project, a group of adventurous 6th graders from West Denver Prep braved the cool mountain air for a special fall weekend camping trip. Despite the fact that many students had never been camping before, they jumped right in to an action packed weekend… Read more »
The 26th CAP class at New Vista High School has come to a close with a great project on water quality in Boulder Creek and some fantastic reflection papers. We faced some challenges and learned a lot this quarter. Our biggest success as a group was the cohesiveness and friendship we found together. Melanie Wilkerson… Read more »
After much discussion and many good ideas, Community Adventure Program (CAP) students decided to dive in deep to tackle the water quality of Boulder Creek. As a central part of downtown Boulder, the class thought it was unfortunate that there was visible trash around the creek constantly, so they decided to do something about it!… Read more »
The local fire ban didn’t stop this crew of weekend wilderness warriors from igniting a passion for the outdoors. Cottonwood Institute instructors, Darren Silver, Jason Lawrence, and Aleyna Porreca delivered an action-packed course for children and parents of military families through a collaboration with Operation Military Kids and Colorado Lions Camp. A fine mix of fun… Read more »
Not many people intentionally choose to give up their weekends to get up before sunrise to sling rock and help rebuild trail on 14,000 foot peaks. But that is just what heroic Cottonwood Institute volunteers chose to do this summer when they signed up for our Mt. Evans Volunteer Project. “The wake up call felt… Read more »
Loosen up your tossing arm and get ready for the 2010 Cornhole Throwdown to benefit the Cottonwood Institute. Festivities begin this Saturday, October 9th, 2010 at 11am at the northwest fields of Washington Park in Denver, CO. Proceeds from this event will help support our courses to help connect public school students to the outdoors…. Read more »
The Music Survival Project pilot project was a huge hit this summer and has new fan base in Colorado. The Cottonwood Institute, The Slam Movement, and Arapahoe/Douglas Works! Youth in the Works collaborated to bring a passionate group of students to the mountains for a week to practice survival skills, enjoy nature, create music and… Read more »
Produce was harvested, meals were cooked, rivers were explored, and fires were blazing! In fact, two of the students from this course were able to start a fire using the more difficult bow-drill friction fire method on their first try, a Cottonwood Institute record. Some even made bow drill sets from the native cottonwood and… Read more »
