Students explore perspectives from different stakeholders in the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project to understand broader water issues. Written by CI Field Instructor Amy Atkins. See more photos here! In our current polarized cultural climate, it is often difficult to empathize with people who have different viewpoints from ours. Polarization also furthers confirmation bias, an idea… Read more »
Written by CAP Instructor & Curriculum Manager Chelsea Tossing If you live anywhere in the drought-stricken west, wildfire has almost definitely been on your mind these past few years. With three out of the four of Colorado’s largest wildfires ravaging the state in 2020 and both the Marshall fire and the NCAR fire impacting our… Read more »
“The stories we tell will determine whether our society declines and self-destructs or whether we can heal and thrive”. – Favianna Rodriguez Movies have power. Remember back to the last time you were in a darkened theater? The anticipation you felt as you waded through the commercials and previews – the savory scent of buttered… Read more »
“If anything, art is… about morals, about our belief in humanity. Without that, there simply is no art.” –Ai Weiwei – Chinese contemporary artist We only have 8 years to create and execute a plan to stop the worst effects of climate change. This 8 year window comes from an IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate… Read more »
The greenhouse effect may be one of the primary drivers of global warming, but did you know that it can also make delicious solar cookies? Last month, New Vista CAP students gathered at Eben G. Fine park near downtown Boulder for the second field day of the year and the first week of fall. After… Read more »
Written by CI CAP Instructor Chelsea Tossing “Hoot, hoot!” I hollered across the field at Chautauqua Park to gather my students. “Ca-CAWWW” my students yelled back at me in their best bird impressions. On September 10th, the New Vista High School crew headed out to the Enchanted Mesa trailhead for our first walking field day… Read more »
What made Colorado’s 2020 wildfire season such an anomaly? What do you do if you sprain an ankle in the wilderness? Just how much food waste can one pound of worms eat? This spring’s CAP Class at New Vista High School answered all these questions and more! In one of our first units, students conducted… Read more »
Did you know that 2020’s fire season had not one, but three, record-setting wildfires here in Colorado? Have you seen one of our 946 species of native bees buzzing in your garden? Or played on a playground next to one of our 80,000+ active and abandoned oil wells? From wildfires to fracking, each week of… 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 »
Have you ever seen street art that stopped you in your tracks? A stunning photograph of a protester standing up to power? A video about the impacts of climate change that gave you chills? Art can transcend language and logic to tap into something deeply human. The raw emotion of artistic expression, when used to… Read more »
