There is a lot of construction in Green Valley Ranch: new houses, new shopping centers and new schools. All that construction creates an unsettled feeling in people and leaves wildlife scrambling for food and shelter. The Community Adventure Program (CAP) students at KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy (KIPP NDLA) looked at the neighborhood on an… Read more »
Rushing creeks and energetic boys from Longmont’s Casa De La Esperanza housing community (Casa) crisscrossed the property of Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center this summer. As part of CI’s Community Adventure Program (CAP), the boys explored the high-altitude evergreen forests, captured bugs, fed barnyard animals, spotted beavers, and made medicinal balms. At first glance, the swift… Read more »
Last month, Cottonwood Institute instructors met up with 68 middle and high school students from 15 school districts throughout northeast and east central Colorado. They spent three days at CU Boulder as part of a program hosted by BOCES. They are an umbrella organization providing educational, administrative, technological, and other services to school groups across the state of Colorado. The… Read more »
Littleton Academy came in like a storm and emerged as calm as the wolves. With the energetic entrance of 15 boys, 4 girls, and 7 adults, the staff at Mission:Wolf (M:W) did the only thing they knew how to do, welcomed us with open arms and southern hospitality. Nestled in a valley with the Sangre… Read more »
New Vista High School, a changemaker school in Boulder, Colorado is known for doing things unconventionally, out-of-the box, and in a style all its own. The CAP Spring 2017 class was no exception. Instead of the usual two overnights that tend to be standard in the the Cottonwood Institute CAP curriculum, we completed one overnight and… Read more »
“I kissed a wolf, and I liked it,” a fifth-grader from Littleton Academy sang. She had just met Mission:Wolf’s newest addition, Nashira, a 14-week-old pup. A group of 23 fifth graders traveled to Mission:Wolf, the wolf sanctuary in Colorado’s Wet Mountains to participate in Littleton Academy’s annual endangered wolf project led by Cottonwood Institute. Friday… Read more »
Spring snows almost left twenty-three CAP students at STRIVE Prep – RISE without a destination for their overnight. But thanks to the quick work of the Cottonwood Institute administrative staff, we relocated to snow-free Cherry Creek State Park for a nearby camping trip that still felt worlds away from the daily grind for these high school… Read more »
As Colorado Academy instructors prepare for the kids coming to camp this summer, they invited Cottonwood Institute (CI) to teach a teambuilding workshop at their staff training! If you know CI, this is definitely in our wheelhouse of what we like to teach, so we jumped on this opportunity! With three CI instructors and 68 Colorado Academy instructors… Read more »
Saturday morning, bright and early, in the parking lot of STRIVE Prep – Westwood School, CAP students and their instructors gather their gear, load up the van and head out for the weekend for their awesome camping adventure. “So, CAP Students, what do you want to get out of this weekend camping trip. It’s not every day we… Read more »
The KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy CAP students experienced personal and physical challenges on their class overnight trip to Cal-Wood. Despite the difficulties, together we ultimately gained first-hand experience in the importance that teamwork has on the ultimate success of the group. The freshman crew of KIPP students started their Cal-wood camping trip off by exploring the nature area at Rocky… Read more »
