This year Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE) is celebrating 30 years of being a statewide leader in environmental education in Colorado. Last week they put on their 19th annual Advancing Environmental Education Conference. Cottonwood Institute (CI) presented two conference sessions and received the Advancing Environmental Literacy Award on behalf of the Nature Kids/Jovenes de… Read more »
While preparing the Angevine Middle School CAP class for their winter snowshoeing trip, one of the students said that if they were out in the wild they would feel nervous, like someone was going to sneak up on them. As someone who feels nothing but peace while being alone in the outdoors, this comment fueled… Read more »
Our 2018 season of Cottonwood Institute (CI) CAP classes has come to an end! Each of our CAP classes spend a portion of their time service learning through their class action projects! In case you missed it, check out a few of the amazing Action Projects created by CI CAP students in 2018! Ending Car… Read more »
It’s that time of year again! As the year comes to a close, we are excited to share our top 10 inspiring stories from 2018. What exactly have we been up to this past year? See for yourself and get ready to be inspired! 1. Nature Kids Lafayette First Year Of Programming Returns Great Results… Read more »
After the first full year of programming for Nature Kids / Jovenes de la Naturaleza (Nature Kids) Program in Lafayette, CO, there are some great results to report! Nature Kids is a five-year, $10 million collective impact project led by Thorne Nature Experience that provides pre-k to high school, backyard to backcountry, and family integrated… Read more »
The 2018 Base Camp Bash to benefit Cottonwood Institute (CI) was a huge success! We brought the spirit of the Big Easy to Denver with a fabulous New Orleans themed party at Great Divide Brewing Company’s amazing private event space in RiNo. It was the perfect venue for fun, socializing, music, and dancing. This… Read more »
In August 2016, Cottonwood Institute (CI) took on a very important last minute project to officially have our Community Adventure Program (CAP) curriculum approved by the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education. This has been a long time coming and will open opportunities for work with more schools in Boulder County. Curriculum approval was… Read more »
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) announced that the Nature Kids/Jovenes de la Naturaleza (NKJN) Coalition in Lafayette, CO, which Cottonwood Institute is a lead partner for, won a $2.8M Inspire Initiative grant! NKJN will focus on a one-square mile area, in a network of public schools serving the lowest income children in the Boulder Valley School District…. Read more »
The sun shined promisingly as a group of adventurous teenage girls met in the Centaurus High School parking lot, ready for a night of backpacking in the woods. The girls knew each other from school, but still had some familiarizing to do as a group. One thing they all had in common was being part… Read more »
We are committed to transforming the way we empower public school students to become leaders and problem solvers in their communities. All donations, no matter how large or small help make a huge difference! $10,000 can help pay for 2 semesters of the Community Adventure Program for 15 public school students at STRIVE Preparatory Schools… Read more »