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Changemakers Challenge: From Backpacks to Bowdrills (and Back!)

Leadership, Nature, and Growth on a Transformative Trip. Written by Changemaker Program Students, Lahja Wise and Iona Kelly. How can a single trip be so exciting, introspective, and informative at the same time? The only thing we know for sure is that it would not have happened without our lovely mentors, Erin And Chelsea. This… Read more »

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Changemakers Spark Ancestral Skills Revival: Reconnecting Community Through Fire, Shelter & Crafts

Students Lead Frigid-Weather Gathering, Fostering Sustainability & Connection to Heritage. Written by Associate Director and Senior Instructor Chelsea Tossing. In a world increasingly dominated by technology, our Changemaker students have been craving to reconnect themselves and their community with ancestral skills. This past weekend, our Changemaker Outdoor Leadership Program welcomed 40 eager members of the… Read more »

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The Changemakers’ Enchanted Autumn Escape

How the Changemaker Outdoor Leadership Corps Discovered Magic Stewarding Colorado’s Land. Written by Senior CAP Instructor Erin Angel. The Changemaker Outdoor Leadership Corps spent two crisp, golden days together enjoying a break from the pressures of the “real world.” We gathered under the bright autumn sun at Reynolds Ranch to work with the inspiring Ranger… Read more »

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Changemakers 22-23 Year in Review

Cottonwood Institute works closely with our school and community partners to make sure that our programs meet a real community need and values student voices. Now entering its third year, the Changemaker Program engages CAP class alums through a yearlong leadership program. In 2021, students identified relationship building as our goal in response to the… Read more »

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Changemakers plant willows in the Cameron Peak burn area

Changemakers planted willows with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers in an area that had been affected by the Cameron Peak wildfire. Written by CAP Instructor Erin Angel. Escrito en español más abajo.  Changemakers began our first overnight of the 2022-23 season with service to the environment. We joined Wildlands Restoration Volunteers in replanting willows in an area… Read more »

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Changemakers Summer Trip to Dinosaur

Escrito en español más abajo. The Changemakers program took our end of the year trip to backpack through the canyons of Dinosaur National Monument. Over the course of four days, we as a group have grown closer than ever. From country roads to crunchy roads, we did it all; some of our personal highlights include… Read more »

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Changemakers give away native plants for Earth Day

Escrito en español más abajo. Early on Saturday morning, we all Changemakers met up behind the Lafayette Recreation Center to start preparing our booth for the annual Lafayette Earth Day festival. For our booth, we decided that we would inform people passing by of different native plants that they can plant in their own backyards… Read more »

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A Skeletal Surprise for Changemakers

The Changemakers winter field day featured a skeletal surprise,  quinzhee, avalanche training, and plenty of falls in the snow! Written by Chelsea Tossing. Check out more photos here. Escrito en español más abajo If you’ve ever been to Brainard Lake in the winter, you know how absolutely beautiful it is; endless miles of trails take… Read more »

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Changemakers 2021: What do you need right now?

Written by Chelsea Tossing (Escrito en español más abajo) When we first began the Changemakers program in the summer of 2020, the world felt as if it had been turned upside down. Students had been out of school for months, and the lockdowns that extended into summer proved even more isolating. As we began thinking… Read more »