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Bees, Building, and Bites

What’s the buzz? The 4th quarter Community Adventure Program (CAP) students at New Vista High School completed their amazing Action Project: a brand new bee garden, soon to be chock-full of sustainable food! The class was at a crossroads, wishing they could work on three different themes: green building, disappearing bees, and local gardens. Together,… Read more »

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A Brilliant Year of CAP

When I started teaching at New Vista High School in the fall of 2008 I didn’t know what to expect. I was excited about the idea of working with high school students, and nervous about teaching again since I’d taken almost a two year break. In my wildest dreams I couldn’t have anticipated what a… Read more »

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And the Environmental Stewardship Award Goes to…

So many amazing Action Projects were completed by Community Adventure Program students in 2008 and it seems like an impossible task to choose which one was the best. Despite the challenge, the Cottonwood Institute assembled an outstanding panel of local judges to set out to do just that. The panel included: Michael Barney: Community Outreach… Read more »

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Boulder Bash This Sunday!

Tell your friends and mark your calenders, the Boulder Bash is coming to Boulder, CO this Sunday! Since the spring blizzard in April kept many people from attending the Base Camp Bash in Denver, we have decided to bring the Bash to Boulder. Paige Doughty, Rock Star Community Adventure Program Instructor at New Vista High… Read more »

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Ring Your Bike Bell For Leson Hansen!

Leson Dunkley is a much loved school teacher at the Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies and the parent of one of our rock star alumni, Alys Hansen. Leson was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and she is about to undergo her third round of chemotherapy and is in need of financial assistance. On… Read more »

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Green Building, Bees, and Local Food!

We began our action project week at Resource 2000 helping around the yard to learn about building green by using reclaimed materials. In exchange for our work we received tiles, fencing, and a few other necessities for our garden. In the afternoon we met with Ryland Gardner of the Boulder Green Building Guild to hear… Read more »

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Toss Less Trash

Ever wonder how much of your trash could be kept out of a landfill? A lot, according to the 3rd quarter Community Adventure Program (CAP) class at New Vista High School. Led by teacher Paige Doughty in partnership with the Cottonwood Institute, these students decided to learn about the relationship between overconsumption, wasteful packaging, and… Read more »

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In Your Words…

Your words say it all… Thanks for an amazing quarter, Paige. “When someone takes action on something they are passionate about, the final product can be one that is very influential and astounding…From goofy games to lengthy talks about trees’ rights, CAP has opened my eyes to the wonders and beauties in nature. Not only… Read more »

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Cottonwood Institute Receives $1,500 Grant From Patagonia!

Imagine a high school class where you can get academic credit for going camping and changing the world. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well, Patagonia, the outdoor clothing and gear company, thought so too. The Patagonia store in Boulder chose to show their support by awarding the Cottonwood Institute with a $1,500 grant! The grant will… Read more »

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Action Project Week is Almost here…

After speaking at length with Joe, our custodian, several other staff members, and Eco-Cycle, students came up with the following problem statement this quarter: New Vista High School Students (and others) buy excessively packaged products and do not know proper disposal methods. This leads to large amounts of trash that could either be recycled, composted, or… Read more »