2019 was a big year for Cottonwood Institute. We connected hundreds of students to the outdoors, watched them create some inspiring Action Projects, were honored as the ColoradoBiz Magazine Top Company in the nonprofit category, and even bought our own 15-passenger van to help us increase our impact! We are excited to share our Best… Read more »
We’ve reached the end of another year at Cottonwood Institute! 2019 was a big one for us (our fifteenth!), and we’re so proud of everything our students, instructors, volunteers, alumni, partners, and community members accomplished this year. Check out ten of our most inspiring stories from 2019 — we think you’ll be amazed! 10…. Read more »
The world is changing. This change impacts all of us in more ways than we can tell. As teenagers, we can clearly recognize that our future is in jeopardy. So for the 2019 Fall CAP class at New Vista High School, (the 50th time CAP has been taught at New Vista High School), we decided… Read more »
For some students, one semester of CAP class with Cottonwood Institute just isn’t enough. And could you blame them? Connecting with the outdoors, learning critical 21st-century skills, effecting meaningful change in their communities—what’s not to love? And for a certain devoted subset of those students, like Leo Canner, even two semesters of CAP only serve… 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 »
Most of the time, we use our Alumni Spotlight to catch up with Cottonwood Institute alumni a few years after they’ve completed their CAP class, to see how they’ve been using what they learned in CAP to make a difference in their world. We didn’t need to wait that long to speak to Lindsey Machado;… 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 »
As we continue to bask in the glow of last month’s Base Camp Bash, we’ve spent quite a bit of time reflecting on all of the amazing things Cottonwood Institute students have done this year. Our Ripple Effect Award Honorees Osiel Gomez and Pedro Guerra led the charge, educating their communities on the harms of… Read more »
If you’ve been part of the Cottonwood Institute family for while, Aleyna Porreca will already be a familiar face. After taking a CAP class at New Vista High School, Aleyna returned to CI as a Field Instructor back in 2010. Aleyna has been an amazing advocate for Cottonwood Institute’s mission and has gone on some… Read more »
We always love to hear about the ways Cottonwood Institute students bring their CI experiences with them into the world. CAP New Vista Alumna Astrea Strawn has made the outdoors a major part of her life, working as an outdoor educator and now pursuing a masters in marine sciences at Oregon State University. What… Read more »
