Buy Art. Help Get Kids Outdoors!

Posted by & filed under Cottonwood Institute News, Updates.

Local Denver artist Mike Wilson did something extraordinary. He painted watercolors of 53 of the highest peaks in Colorado, known as “14ers” for their height of over 14,000 feet above sea level – and donated the entire collection to Cottonwood Institute. Our online 14ers Artwork Store is now open so that outdoor enthusiasts in Colorado… Read more »

William Smith High School’s First Crew Day!

Posted by & filed under Program News, William Smith.

Capture the Flag

Written by CAP Instructor Carly Winner (Escrito en español más abajo) William Smith High School has a unique offering: the school is grouped into Crews, which meet weekly for homeroom and provide an opportunity for students to get to know each other outside their typical classes. This fall, Cottonwood Institute and William Smith are teaming… Read more »

Lafayette Youth Corps Explores Different Ideas of “Nature”

Posted by & filed under Lafayette Youth Corps.

Lafayette Youth Corps at Waneka Lake

Written by Field Instructor Barbara Ramsdell (Escrito en español más abajo) Wildlands Restoration Volunteers and Cottonwood Institute partnered for another day of Lafayette Youth Corps activities at Waneka Lake. The interns spent Saturday, October 16th taking a step back from their conservation service work to focus on team building, nature awareness, and outdoor skills. It was a… Read more »

Angevine Middle School: Cukie goes fishing!

Posted by & filed under Angevine Middle School, CAP, Community Adventure Program.

AMS students on the dock at Waneka Lake

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 »

Alumni Spotlight: Jacob Smith

Posted by & filed under Alumni Spotlight.

Jacob Smith

Cottonwood Institute’s community partnerships allow us to meet thriving young professionals doing inspiring work in the fields of education, conservation, and equity. We recently caught up with Jacob Smith (he/she), a social justice community organizer, fundraiser, and international speaker. Jacob Smith is a diehard black queer feminist and abolitionist organizer fighting for a joyful and… Read more »

Lafayette Youth Corps Launches its Second Year with CI

Posted by & filed under Lafayette Youth Corps, Program News, Youth Stewardship Internship.

Lafayett Youth Corps Students Work Together

Written by Instructor Carly Winner (Escrito en español más abajo) Cottonwood Institute is once again collaborating with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV), City of Lafayette Parks, Recreation, and Open Space, Thorne Nature Experience, and Nature Kids Lafayette on the Lafayette Youth Corps (LYC) program, which gives high schoolers an opportunity help to care for parks trails… Read more »

AXL Academy’s Fall Overnight: A Jam-Packed Adventure!

Posted by & filed under AXL Academy, CAP.

Sunset

Written by CAP Instructor Carly Winner The first Cottonwood Institute overnight of the 2021-2022 school year was a success as students braved wintry conditions for a fun night. The AXL Academy CAP class met on Thursday morning to venture up to Cal-Wood Education Center. On the drive up, we couldn’t see much through the fog… Read more »

Feeling Lucky: Centaurus’ Biking Field Trip

Posted by & filed under Centaurus High School, Community Adventure Program, Uncategorized.

Written by CAP Instructor Erin Angel (Escrito en español más abajo) The Centaurus High School CAP class partnered with Lucky to Ride for our September Field Day. Feeling actually lucky to ride, 13 intrepid humans hailing from seven different countries came together for a joyful day of mountain biking and building community. We’ll leave it… Read more »