In mid-May, students from STRIVE Prep Sunnyside and Green Valley Ranch campuses enjoyed one of the first sunny and warm weekends of the spring. Students from both campuses came together for a fun-filled and adventurous overnight camping trip as part of their respective mini-CAP classes with Cottonwood Institute. Early on Saturday morning, they headed to… Read more »
Posts By: Ford Church
Flood Recovery at Cal-Wood: Students from CYC Rebuild Trails
New best friends were made and hiking trails were made usable once more after eleven girls from the Colorado Youth for Change (CYC) program went to Cal-Wood for two nights. In early June, Cottonwood Institute partnered with CYC, which works to help at-risk youth to stay in high school until they can graduate. They brought… Read more »
Backpacking, Wolves, and Horses: Colorado Academy Students Visit and Work at Mission: Wolf
When the high school students of Colorado Academy signed up for the “Endangered Wolves” end of the year interim trip during the last few week of May, they weren’t completely sure what to expect. What they got was an adventure and learning experience that won’t soon be forgotten. After the long ride to Mission: Wolf,… Read more »
“How Do Wolves Give Fish Cold Water?” STRIVE Prep Students Visit Mission: Wolf
In early June, Cottonwood Institute led a group of students from STRIVE Preparatory Schools’ Excel campus to Mission: Wolf, a solar-powered wolf sanctuary in Westcliffe, Colorado. The group spent four days meeting wolves, playing, exploring, learning, and working hard to give back Mission: Wolf. Situated across the valley from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and… Read more »
Logan School Students Get Fired Up About Weather And Fire Ecology
“Run! Run! Deploy! Deploy!” A mass of bodies sprints around the corner, cutting tightly onto the sand volleyball court. Crinkly silver fire shelters fly out of their packaging as their owners attempt to get beneath them as quickly as possible. Lying face down on the ground like so many baked potatoes, those under the shelters… Read more »
Littleton Academy Students Earn Their Wolf Kisses
From brilliant sunshine to whipping wind to glistening snowflakes, Littleton Academy 5th graders saw it all this spring at Mission: Wolf, a wolf and horse sanctuary in the remote Colorado mountains where volunteers work hard to educate visitors about wolves. The weather was no concern for this group; however, as the excitement of meeting the… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute Settles In To New Home At The Alliance Center
The Alliance Center building is a model of commercial real estate sustainability in action. It is the first historic building in the world to receive 2 LEED certifications for existing buildings and commercial interiors and they are seeking Platinum certification for existing buildings operations and maintenance. They also just completed a major renovation to upgrade… Read more »
Alumni Spotlight: Belen Colin
We recently had an opportunity to catch up with a former Cottonwood Institute (CI) student, Belen Colin, and wanted to find out what she is up to and how she was impacted by her CI experience. What are you up to these days? I currently work as an academic coach for an online school in… Read more »
CAP Students at New Vista Explore Planned Obsolescence
An action project in CAP (Community Adventure Program) is when we choose a local environmental issue to focus on and make a difference within our school and community. Our class’ topic was planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is the process of industries designing and manufacturing their products to fail after a couple of years of use,… Read more »
Math, Hobbits, and Garden Expansion: a spring update from the Learning Garden!
It has been a fantastic year for the Learning Gardens at New Vista High School! The action packed year was filled with student-initiated and implemented garden projects. There were many opportunities for students to engage with and learn in the garden during academic classes and Gardening Workshops. Students learned about gardening in Colorado and practiced… Read more »
