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Cottonwood Institute Hosts Most Successful Bash Ever!

It is incredible what is possible when the community pulls together to support a good cause. Approximately 250 people and local businesses rallied together to donate money, silent auction items, food, and spirits to help make the 2013 Base Camp Bash our most successful event ever! So how much money did we raise? We raised… Read more »

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Lifespan Local: Endless Possibilities on a Night Hike

Written by CI Senior Instructor Amy Atkins. Check out photos here! “I’m scared, but I want to try it.” It’s what every teacher hopes to hear as students figure out their learning edge and step into brave space. It’s what every camper should be saying this summer as they attempt new things and grow into… Read more »

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Sunnyside’s Mission: Wolf trip!

Escrito en español más abajo. Written by Cottonwood Institute instructor Carly Winner. See more photos here! Cottonwood Institute was thrilled to be able to partner with STRIVE Prep Sunnyside again this year on a summer expedition to Mission:Wolf, a non-profit educational wolf sanctuary in the remote Sangre de Cristo mountains. These middle schoolers were kind,… Read more »

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Family Day with Lafayette Youth Corps

Lafayette Youth Corps hosted a family day for their March session with Cottonwood Institute! Written by Carly Winner. Check out more photos here! Escrito en español más abajo. March showed up with a range of weather, but on March 12 for our field day with the Lafayette Youth Corps and Wildlands Restoration Volunteers it was… Read more »

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Angevine Middle School: Cukie goes fishing!

Written by CAP Instructor Erin Angel (Escrito en español más abajo) Photos here! The Angevine Middle School CAP class had another fall adventure with a garden vegetable (technically a fruit) tagging along. Cukie the Cucumber and his human friends joined April Archer from SaraBella Fishing for a wonderful day of fly fishing on Waneka Lake…. Read more »

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NVHS CAP Wraps Up Jam-Packed Quarter

What made Colorado’s 2020 wildfire season such an anomaly? What do you do if you sprain an ankle in the wilderness? Just how much food waste can one pound of worms eat? This spring’s CAP Class at New Vista High School answered all these questions and more! In one of our first units, students conducted… Read more »

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Growth and Gratitude with AXL CAP Class

For the first time, CAP class at AXL Academy has been offered as a yearlong elective, allowing students to dig deeper into environmental topics and issues specific to their community. CAP Instructor Katie Morton shared some reflections on the first two trimesters as her class moves into spring: In the last year, the words “unprecedented,”… Read more »

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Cottonwood Institute Fall Program Updates

At Cottonwood Institute, we’ve got reasons to love every time of year. Winter means plenty of snow for building quinzhees, spring is time for projects in the garden (or more quinzhees if the snow decides to stick around), and summer brings us down to Westcliffe for adventures at Mission: Wolf. But our favorite time of… Read more »

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CAP Class

Overview The CAP Program is an award-winning elective class offered during the school day for academic credit. During CAP, students meet in class 3-5 days per week, challenge themselves on hikes and overnight camping trips, explore inspiring solutions to hyper-local environmental issues, choose an issue to address as a class, and collaborate with other local… Read more »