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Play Time for the Instructors!

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.” – Eleanora Duse Despite a mid-winter summer in the Front Range, the… Read more »

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Alumni Spotlight: Brian Fauver

Are you a Cottonwood alumnus? We’d love to hear from you! What are you up to? Email Us! We recently had the opportunity to reconnect with Brian Fauver, a Cottonwood Institute alumnus. Even as he enters a graduate degree program, he continues to use the problem-solving, critical thinking, and leadership skills he gained through CAP…. Read more »

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Top 10 Inspiring Stories From 2012

We are wrapping up another incredible programming year with the Cottonwood Institute and have been blown away by the students we have served and the Action Projects they have taken on to improve their schools, the community, and the environment. In 2012, we served over 375 youth, logged over 15,000 program contact hours, and recorded… Read more »

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The North Face Awards Explore Fund Grant to Cottonwood Institute

The North Face awarded an Explore Fund grant to the Cottonwood Institute to help fund our programs with Casa de la Esperanza in Boulder County! The Explore Fund’s mission is to inspire and enable the next generation of explorers by funding non-profit organizations that are working to re-connect children with nature. By encouraging an active… Read more »

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Colorado Gives Day Happy Hour: Tuesday, December 4, 2012

COLORADO GIVES DAY: Tuesday, December 4, 2012 Cottonwood Institute is rallying downtown businesses and supporters for happy hour to “give where they live…and work” for Colorado Gives Day, Tuesday, December 4th from 4:30pm – 6:00pm at Wynkoop Brewing Company, Upstairs Bar. We are encouraging folks to take off work a little early on Colorado Gives Day… Read more »

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The Buzz from CAP this Quarter!

This past quarter of CAP, the class has learned many interesting things. They learned about bees, pollinators, survival skills, and tips on camping. One of the main things CAP focused on was colony collapse disorder (CCD), which is the disappearance of worker honey bees. Another is wilderness survival skills, which is teaching the class how… Read more »

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Cottonwood Institute Welcomes New Adventure Coordinator

It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. That someone is Katie Craig and she has hit the ground running! The Cottonwood Institute has been going through a fall transition of our own as we welcome Katie Craig as our new Adventure Coordinator and Community Adventure Program (CAP) Instructor at New Vista High… Read more »

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Throwdown, Bags, and Bagpipes

No, we are not talking about the sequel to Braveheart, but the 2012 Throwdown started to the thundering sound of bagpipes and drums as participants put their game faces on and prepared for battle, er, competition. With team names like “Maized and Confused,” “Nacho Mamma,” and “This Ain’t Our First Throwdown,” we knew we were… Read more »

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Highlights from the 2011 Annual Report

I really get fired up about our work because we are addressing two really important issues in our community: So many kids along the Front Range see the mountains every day and either never have been to the mountains, don’t have access to the outdoors in terms of gear or transportation, or don’t have positive… Read more »

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AOR Survives – Hoot!

On Monday, June 18th, 2012, Agency Off Record, Inc. (AOR), a spunky advertising agency in Denver, CO, closed the office for the day and took off to the mountains for a 1-day survival training with the Cottonwood Institute. Leaving the 100 degree heat behind, AOR did what every responsible company should do: unplug, leave client… Read more »