Cottonwood Institute is excited to announce a special van “Fun Drive” Campaign. Our goal is to raise $30,000 to acquire a 15-passenger van to help connect more students to nature! It is a well known fact that transportation is a big barrier for getting more students outside and connected to nature. For the past 15… Read more »
What a semester! With five CAP classes, 16 field excursions, and more than 100 students served, Spring 2019 was one of our busiest yet. From taking their frigid first steps on winter Field Days to making incredible strides to improve their communities in their Action Projects, Cottonwood Institute students have achieved so much this year…. Read more »
The fourth annual STRIVE Prep — Sunnyside Mission:Wolf trip may have easily been the best yet. Twelve EXCEPTIONAL middle school students, two teacher chaperones, and two Cottonwood instructors ventured down early Friday morning for a three-day course and a date with the sanctuary’s rescued wolves. Students were excited to take the trip, some joining for… Read more »
The AXL CAP students had a lot of grand ideas for their class action project this last trimester. There were talks of planting gardens and building a Gaga Ball court (a game played at Cheley Outpost on their class overnight). They knew that they definitely wanted to do something that would benefit their school AND… Read more »
“Hurry up and wait.” “The wheels of change grind slowly.” “Patience is a virtue.” All frustrating phrases that no middle schooler really wants to hear. The action project for the CAP students at Angevine Middle School was a little bit of a lesson in these aphorisms, but also a lesson on how it is important… Read more »
The Centaurus CAP class’ spring backpacking trip to Cal-Wood was a twofer, or actually a threefer: first, the group had fun, they accomplished some much needed tree thinning for their service project, and the topper on this trifecta was getting a major step of their action project accomplished—collecting over 250 rooted seedling trees for replanting…. Read more »
CAP students from KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy (KSPA) embarked on their last weekend adventure for the semester at Cal-Wood Education Center. Prepared with a van full of gear and food, the group left the school, the city, and their technology(!) behind for a two-day, one-night adventure they will remember forever. The group arrived at their… Read more »
The centerpiece of every CAP class with Cottonwood Institute is the end-of-semester Action Project, which gives students the opportunity to address a local environmental issue of their choosing. Action Projects allow students to synthesize the lessons they’ve learned in class and on their field trips, and use them to create meaningful change in their communities…. Read more »
Did you know that native bees live in solitary “apartments” instead of bee hives? Or that plastic caps can now be recycled in Boulder as long as they are attached to empty bottles? Or that fashion industry “trends” are really just a ploy to get you to buy new clothes when you have perfectly good… Read more »
If you would have seen this Centaurus group at the beginning of the semester, you never would have thought they’d end up friends, let alone the close-knit, always-joking group that they have become. This cast of characters has a set of distinct personalities that could have come straight from a John Hughes movie. Their bonds… Read more »
