Changemaker Teens Enjoyed a Wild Weekend of Service Supporting a Multi-Year Greenback Cutthroat Trout Restoration Project at George Creek Written by Erin Angel, Senior Instructor, Changemakers & Alumni Coordinator. Changemakers Outdoor Leadership Corp (COLC or just Changemakers) started their year off strong in September with an overnight service project. After school on Friday, some of… Read more »
Outdoor Leadership, Environmental Stewardship, and Adventure Shaped a Year of Growth for our 2025–2026 Changemakers Outdoor Leadership Corps Written by Erin Angel, Senior Instructor, Changemakers & Alumni Coordinator. From the first hike in Chautauqua in August to the capstone trip to the summit of Mt. Sopris, our 2025-2026 Changemakers were always aiming high. Our year… Read more »
Follow One Student’s Day-by-Day Recap of Their 2026 Changemakers Capstone Outdoor Adventure Written by Changemaker (and Ripple Effect Award-winning) student Kay Young. At the end of each year, Changemakers has one last week-long trip. Some years the trip is only for fun, some years it ties into our Action Project—this year it was half and… Read more »
More Than 100 Participants Gathered to Learn Traditional Skills, Connect with Nature, and Strengthen Community Connections. Written by Kira Gilliland, Changemaker Alum. Over the past couple of years, our Ancestral Skills Gathering has had a meaningful impact within our small community. This year, however, we wanted to make it even bigger and better. The 3rd… Read more »
What It Takes to Sleep in Quinzees: A Changemakers Backcountry Journey of Grit, Snow, and Self-Reliance Written by Erin Angel, CI Senior Instructor, Changemakers & Alumni Coordinator. Smile and say “Quinzeeeeee!” Changemakers Outdoor Leadership Corps were all smiles when they finally finished building their quinzees in time to scarf down a late dinner and crawl… Read more »
Join Us for Our 3rd Annual Ancestral Skills Gathering on April 25, 2026! Written by Erin Angel, CI Senior Instructor, Changemakers & Alumni Coordinator. On a bright fall day, students from our Changemakers Outdoor Leadership Corps were waiting for a shuttle during a backpacking trip in the Rockies. To pass the time, their instructor taught… Read more »
Wilderness First Aid: Changemakers Gain Skills for Caring for Others in Wild Places and Beyond Written by Erin Angel, CI Senior Instructor, Changemakers & Alumni Coordinator. On a cold January weekend, while most people were staying cozy indoors watching the Broncos, Changemaker students—and a few hardy Cottonwood staff—were outside doing something pretty powerful: learning how… Read more »
The Taylor Mountain Trip Provided the Reminder that Sometimes All You Need is a Forest, a Fire, and Friends. Written by Erin Angel, Senior Instructor, Changemakers & Alumni Coordinator. The Changemakers kicked off their fall backpacking trip to Taylor Mountain with a little unexpected mystery. On the hike to our campsite, we were checking out… Read more »
We began our Changemaker’s first overnight trip with a classic Colorado plot twist: rain. On Friday evening, our van rolled into Granby under the darkness of night and the promise of precipitation. Students sprang into action, pitching tents in the drizzle and laughing while we all worked to flip a rain fly right side out… Read more »
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 »
