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 »
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 »
PS1 students spent class time today sketching the natural world around them, taking time to meticulously observe the plant structures found in the Sunken Gardens across from the school. Students filled their journal pages with the flowers, grasses, and prairie plants found in the landscaping, and then enjoyed the great weather by joining another class… Read more »
We spent the weekend at CalWood Education Center, hiking, camping, and practicing wilderness survival skills. Students hiked 2 miles in to the campsite, set up a wide range of shelters (tarp shelter, tent, schwag), and, after some lunch we hit the trail again to do some wildfire mitigation. Students braved a cold night, using hot… Read more »
Students spent the day in the park across from PS1 learning the ins and outs of backpacking gear. Topics included strategies for staying warm while sleeping, how to layer insulating clothing, water filtration, stove use, backcountry cooking, and packing strategies.
PS1 staff and students spent a chilly Wednesday along Bear Creek on the 16th of April collecting water samples for the Sierra Club’s Water Sentinels Program. Kirk Cunningham, Bill Myers, and Dan Ridgeway of the Sierra Club facilitated the outing. Students collected samples that will be laboratory tested for the presence of E coli, Selenium,… Read more »
The CAP class spent Tuesday’s session at the park across the street working some bow drill skills, with special guest instructor and Cottonwood Institute founder Ford Church lending a hand. Although the bow drill is an extremely difficult skill to learn and master, the students pushed through their difficulties and kept working at it… Read more »
Students spent class today researching and utilizing Stinging Nettle, a plant well-known to native people for its nutritive properties, its medicinal uses and for producing the strongest plant-fiber cordage in the natural world. Students sampled Nettle leaf tea, and discussed The Sacred Question. Special thanks to Jessie and JJ (our newest TA) for their assistance… Read more »
