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 »
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 »
