With schools transitioning to distance learning and students spending (understandably) less time outside, Cottonwood Institute has been faced with the tough question of how to make environmental education accessible and relevant in a time when we can’t do many of the things that normally make up a CAP Class. Fortunately, our team has quite a… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute is tracking the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and we look forward to resuming our field programs and getting back outside as soon as it is safe to do so. Until then, we are working hard to support our Front Range communities so that students can continue to build their connection to the natural… Read more »
How about this for a Cottonwood Institute connection? Tess Eckert took CAP at New Vista High School three times between 2007 and 2010 (tied for the all-time record, not that we’re counting). She got to learn from CI celebrities Ford Church and Paige Doughty. And after seven years in Australia, pursuing art, work, and exploration,… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute kicked off the upcoming trip season by convening new and returning staff for a spring training weekend packed with learning, community—and of course—good food. Like any great night, Friday started with pizza. Instructors met, some for the first time, and immediately hit it off over slices of ‘za and an amazing loaf of… Read more »
How many times in your life do you get to set your art project on fire during class? For the students at New Vista High School, this teachable moment became a reality during the art presentations for their Activism Through Self Expression workshop. Now that we have your attention, we’ll go back to the beginning…. Read more »
Last week, the KIPP: Sunshine Peak Academy (KSPA) CAP Club headed out for an exciting second field day at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield Farms. The group was very adaptable after their original plan to visit The GrowHaus had to be changed, and they embraced the spontaneity on a trip filled with games, learning,… Read more »
On a serendipitous sunny day in February, forces aligned to restore Coal Creek from the 2013 floods. Lafayette CAP Outdoor students from Centaurus High School and Angevine Middle School worked with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, the City of Lafayette, and Biologists from University of Colorado to plant willows to shore up the banks of the flood-damaged… Read more »
We asked the students of the Centaurus CAP Outdoor Class a classic icebreaker question when we circled up at 8am in the school parking lot before our winter field dau to Caribou Ranch Open Space near Nederland: What superpower do you want to have? Volar (flying) was a popular choice. Invisibility, mind control (mwahaha) and… Read more »
This semester’s Angevine Middle School Students are all about creativity. On their winter snowshoe trip to Caribou Ranch they built an unconventional, two-entrance quinzhee. They built a Climate Protest Swimming Snowman. And they even made visual artworks or creative poetry video blog entries to reflect on the day. Enjoy the poetry froomo this creative group!… Read more »
Students from Aurora Experiential Learning (AXL) Academy’s CAP class took Thursday and Friday off from their regularly scheduled school activities to spend an overnight in a cabin and get in touch with nature and their peers in Allenspark, CO. During the overnight adventure, students stayed in the Horse Lodge at Highlands Presbyterian Camp. Upon their… Read more »
