Although snow covered much of the compost when students arrived at school earlier this spring, but that didn’t stop a brave and motivated group of New Vista High School advisory students from shoveling and moving compost, clearing our gardens out of a foot of snow, digging weeds and spreading compost over all of our gardens!… Read more »
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 »
Did you know that only 30% of households in America recycle!? Even worse only 10% of them compost? At New Vista High School, with the support of the Earth Task Force (ETF), we do things differently. Every year ETF hosts the highly competitive Recycle Relay. This relay consists of a race in which the homeroom… Read more »
From Thanksgiving to New Years Day Americans throw away 25% more garbage than any other time of the year! That extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of trash. Did you know…If each family in America wrapped only three presents in re-used materials it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields! In preparation… Read more »
We are wrapping up another incredible programming year with the Cottonwood Institute and have been blown away by the students we have served and the Action Projects they have taken on to improve their schools, the community, and the environment. In 2012, we served over 375 youth, logged over 15,000 program contact hours, and recorded… Read more »
I really get fired up about our work because we are addressing two really important issues in our community: So many kids along the Front Range see the mountains every day and either never have been to the mountains, don’t have access to the outdoors in terms of gear or transportation, or don’t have positive… Read more »
Eight months ago, Cottonwood Institute embarked on a new journey, Mini CAP, with a group of sophomores from FAST Tracks, a dropout prevention program at Lakewood High School. Mini CAP is a spin off of our core curriculum at New Vista High School in Boulder, the Community Adventure Program. We took our CAP curriculum and… Read more »
Earth Task Force and Cottonwood Institute Present at National Green Schools Conference The Earth Task Force (ETF), the environmental club at New Vista High School in Boulder, sponsored by the Cottonwood Institute (CI), took part in a whirlwind of events, workshops and speeches at the National Green Schools Conference in Denver February 27th-29th. A tremendous… Read more »
It’s hard to think about winter survival skills when its been in the 60’s recently here in Denver. But only a few weeks ago, we had enough snow to build some serious quinzhees. Amidst the gently falling flakes at Brainard Lake Recreation Area, a quintessential group of outdoor educators gathered together for Cottonwood Institute’s annual… Read more »
2011 has been a phenomenal year filled with amazing accomplishments, awards, and inspiring stories about our students getting outdoors and taking action to make a difference in the community. Here are our top 10 favorite stories from 2011: 1. Earth Task Force Recognized for National Green Prize and Receives $10,000 Check! 2. Cottonwood Institute Wins… Read more »
