AXL’s first winter field day of the year at Staunton State Park! Check out more photos on Flickr. Written by CAP Instructor Carly Winner (Escrito en español más abajo) On January 7th, AXL Academy CAP Class set out on the FIRST winter field day of the school year! The students arrived at school after a… Read more »
Written by CAP Instructor Carly Winner The first Cottonwood Institute overnight of the 2021-2022 school year was a success as students braved wintry conditions for a fun night. The AXL Academy CAP class met on Thursday morning to venture up to Cal-Wood Education Center. On the drive up, we couldn’t see much through the fog… Read more »
Written by CI Cap Instructor Carly Winner My students from the Aurora Expeditionary Learning Academy (AXL) CAP Class ventured to Cherry Creek State Park on September 10th to brave the heat and enjoy the fresh air. Our first adventure of the school year focused on team building activities, exploring, and enjoying our time outdoors. In preparation for… 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 »
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 »
“Awesome things happen when you get awesome people together.” -Ford Church If there were a guiding philosophy that underlies everything we do here at Cottonwood Institute, that might just be it; from students to instructors and partners to donors, this past year has only reinforced that CI’s strength truly lies in its people. So when… Read more »
For the first time, CAP class at AXL Academy has been offered as a yearlong elective, allowing students to dig deeper into environmental topics and issues specific to their community. CAP Instructor Katie Morton shared some reflections on the first two trimesters as her class moves into spring: In the last year, the words “unprecedented,”… 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 »
Students from Aurora Experiential Learning (AXL) Academy’s CAP class took Thursday and Friday off from their regularly scheduled school activities to spend an overnight in a cabin and get in touch with nature and their peers in Allenspark, CO. During the overnight adventure, students stayed in the Horse Lodge at Highlands Presbyterian Camp. Upon their… Read more »
