Beginning my first season as a Cottonwood Instructor, I was thrilled to hit the ground running with one of our Explore Outside programs! On June 1st, our two-week program with STRIVE Prep – Sunnyside 8th graders began. During our time together, we covered all kinds of content that got us exploring the natural world. We… Read more »
In this long, long school year full of challenges, what I was looking forward to most was teaching this group of students at Centaurus High School. I saw the class list at the beginning of the school year and recognized some amazing returning students and a class that was well-balanced between English language learners and… Read more »
The Angevine Middle School 4th quarter class was a hybrid class with some students attending online and the others attending in person. When the quarter started, it was the first time many of the students had been to school in a year and, although the group had been in a cohort all year, they didn’t… Read more »
Years tend to demonstrate themes. Many of the mantras of 2020 and 2021 revolved around perseverance, tenacity, and responding to unprecedented challenges. If one theme were assigned to the Aurora Expeditionary Learning Academy (AXL) CAP class of 2020-2021, it would be complexity. Not only were these students faced with changing schedules and online classes, but… Read more »
What made Colorado’s 2020 wildfire season such an anomaly? What do you do if you sprain an ankle in the wilderness? Just how much food waste can one pound of worms eat? This spring’s CAP Class at New Vista High School answered all these questions and more! In one of our first units, students conducted… Read more »
In September 2020, Cottonwood Institute partnered with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV), Thorne Nature Experience, Nature Kids Lafayette, and the City of Lafayette to launch a stewardship internship program for nine Lafayette high school students. The goal was to create a paid environmental job opportunity that also supported the students’ social and emotional well-being. The cohort… Read more »
The CAP class at AXL Academy reinstated a sense of normalcy while celebrating the outdoors on a fun-filled spring day at Cherry Creek State Park. After a year of being cooped up at home and in the classroom, it was a blast to spend the day outside all together! The students started off with a… Read more »
Every year we gather our whole CI community for our annual Base Camp Bash—a night of celebration and stories, fun and fundraising. The theme of this year’s Base Camp Bash was “Changemakers,” but who exactly is a Changemaker? We couldn’t have said it better than Kevin Cano, Lafayette Stewardship Intern and winner of this year’s… Read more »
Trail games are the spontaneous games you play when you have infinite time and imagination and easy rapport with good friends. On CI’s first overnight trip since the pandemic began, the students in our Changemaker Program craved nothing more than being outdoors together. As we wandered up to Solitude Point at Cal-wood, we started playing… Read more »
As Cottonwood Institute prepares for the next season of trips, CI instructors and staff spent a training weekend building community, skills, and a shared mission. Bright and early Saturday morning, we loaded up in the CI van and drove into Bear Creek Lake Park. We spent the day at the Sunset Amphitheater where the clouds… Read more »
