“I think it is important to foster an appreciation of nature, no matter how large, or small.” – Molly French Have you ever taken the initiative to help a stranger? We hope this story inspires you to help those in need, as it has inspired us to tell this story of kindness. This year, the… Read more »
The Community Adventure Program (CAP) is a class offered at New Vista High School through the Cottonwood Institute that combines outdoor education with environmental stewardship. A large aspect of the class is spent creating a student-directed Action Project concerning a local environmental issue. The students must design a project that will educate people about the… Read more »
What should we have for dinner? It may seem like an innocent question, but in today’s America, that single question can be answered in a multitude of ways. Should it be fast food? Organic? Local? Natural? If you have ever found yourself engaged in a personal battle about what and how to eat, I suggest… Read more »
CAP class students spend Tuesday’s class time climbing at Thrillseeker’s climbing gym to celebrate the rapidly approaching end of the school year. We found it a bit more difficult than it looks, but everyone was game to hit the wall, and had a lot of success pushing past some preconceived limits, and in some cases… Read more »
As the quarter comes to a close, I wanted to get some open and honest feedback from this class about how to improve the CAP for future students. This information will not affect your grade, but please take it seriously. It will be reviewed by the school, the Cottonwood Institute, and this information will help… Read more »
As the quarter comes to a close, I wanted to get some open and honest feedback from this class about how to improve the CAP for future students. This information will not affect your grade, but please take it seriously. It will be reviewed by the school, the Cottonwood Institute, and this information will help… Read more »
Students spent Monday and Tuesday of this week learning about, and making medicinals out of a wide variety of wild plant species. We spent Monday working with oils, and infusing them with the medicinal properties of the herbs we used. From left to right, (above) students infused Thyme, Lavender, St. John’s Wort, and Lemon. … Read more »
PS1 CAP class students spent the weekend at Taylor Mountain, camping, hiking, and learning survival skills. With only 3 students brave enough to attend this trip, the instructors were able to delve more deeply into some complex skills, and the students responded with great interest, pushing through difficult and frustrating skills until they found success…. Read more »
Class TA Jess Moneymaker taught his first of three presentations today, this one covering the Solar Still method of water collection. Jess dug and set up a solar still in a nearby garden, and discussed the various positive and negative aspects of its use as a survival water-collection technique. Click the “.mpg” link below to… Read more »
CAP students have spent the last few days in class learning about and discussing the causes, effects of, and remedies for global climate change. Students spent Monday watching "An Inconvenient Truth" and will finish the film on Tuesday. Students have spent discussion time talking about the recent cyclone in Myanmar, the week-old storm that spawned… Read more »
