2020 has been a year of learning and adjusting for many, including us at Cottonwood Institute. Normally we would be in high gear getting ready for The Throwdown, our annual charity cornhole tournament. However, due to the present circumstances, we have decided to cancel all of our in person events for 2020. But, never… Read more »
New in the summer of 2020: Cottonwood Institute’s #ExploreOutside online program! That’s right—a program that puts two instructors and a group of students in a Zoom conference to do the exact opposite of what 99% of people are doing on Zoom these days—think about nature and get outdoors! The first session of this new program,… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute (CI) is excited to announce our brand new partnership with local cycling club in Denver, CO called We Ride 4. This cycling club is committed to fostering a sense of community through biking. Their mission is to create an experience-based cycling community that shares a passion for riding, socializing, and supporting non-profits that… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute Condemns Anti-Black Violence and Harassment Dear CI Community, Black Youth Matter. Black Joy Matters. Black Lives Matter. Our hearts are heavy for our community. We acknowledge that our Black community members cannot move freely in their homes, communities, or the outdoors for fear of their lives and we condemn it. We stand in… Read more »
The beginning of March is an exciting time for Cottonwood Institute (CI) CAP Programs at Centaurus High School (CHS) and Angevine Middle School (AMS). We play creative games and brainstorming games as we come up with ideas for how to solve problems in our communities. Students form coalitions to lobby other students on their… Read more »
As so many of us have done these last 8 weeks or so, Cottonwood Institute needed to pivot and change how we do things in this age of physical distancing. The biggest concern for our instructors was: how do you turn an outdoor, environmental service learning class into a virtual experience? Lucky for CI, experiential… Read more »
If you’re familiar with the Leave No Trace framework, you may have heard of the first principle: “Plan Ahead & Prepare.” At Cottonwood Institute (CI), we use wilderness as a tool for teaching skills that we hope transcend a weekend on the trail— from navigating weather to finding water, we try to instill in our… Read more »
Earth Day Stay-At-Home Challenge Just because you are stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t do something to save the planet. Here are some great activities collected by the CAP Class at Angevine Middle School, and CAP instructor Erin Angel! Choose at least one challenge from each category and complete it. Each category contains some… Read more »
We hope you and your loved ones are safe, happy and healthy during these uncertain times. Usually around this time of year, the CI staff are busy working to put on our annual Base Camp Bash, but due to the present circumstances, we’ve had to postpone our in person event to September. In the meantime,… Read more »
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 »
