Every year a group of dedicated high school students choose to spend their free time volunteering at our local Denver Zoo.
They get to lend a hand in every department of the zoo, including
preparing food for the animals and completing any odd jobs that need to
be attended to. But this summer, these students got a taste of
something very different; a Cottonwood Institute Endangered Wolves and Animal Tracking course designed especially for them!

Lead by instructors Steve McCue
and Eric Ellison, eight teen zoo volunteers and two adult volunteers
set up camp close by to the remote wolf sanctuary Mission: Wolf.
Several times throughout the week, the group hiked over to the
sanctuary where they got to meet with the wolves first hand, help with
the completion of the play pen and assist with one of the big feeds. In
addition, the group learned important wilderness survival skills
including, natural shelter construction, fire making methods and how to
signal people for help when lost. When questioned about the course,
teen volunteer Sarika Steinhaus said, "I made a lot of new friends and
it was really great to learn the survival skills. I feel much more
prepared now if I were ever to get lost in the woods. It was also great
to learn about the wolves. They are actually really gentle and scared.
We could learn a lot from them if we just pay attention."