Cottonwood Institute is excited to receive a $10,000 grant from Xcel Energy Foundation to help support our CAP Classes at AXL Academy, William Smith High School, Angevine Middle School, Centaurus High School, and New Vista High School during the 2021-22 school year! We are honored to partner with Xcel energy and their commitment to transition… Read more »
2020 has been a lot of things, and while “inspiring” may not be the first word that comes to mind, there were in fact many things to be inspired by in the world of Cottonwood Institute! Our instructors stepped up to the challenge of adapting their programs in a big way, and our students were… Read more »
With the US presidential election less than a week away — don’t worry, this is NOT a political post — I wanted to take an opportunity to share Cottonwood Institute‘s (CI) State of the Union in 2020. We are now 8 months into the COVID-19 pandemic and like many, CI’s world has turned upside down…. Read more »
We are all changemakers; knowingly or unknowingly, the effects of our actions ripple out, changing the world in large and small ways each day. Every year since 2013 at the Base Camp Bash, Cottonwood Institute recognizes the ways our students make change in their schools, their communities, and the world. The Ripple Effect Award celebrates… Read more »
With schools transitioning to distance learning and students spending (understandably) less time outside, Cottonwood Institute has been faced with the tough question of how to make environmental education accessible and relevant in a time when we can’t do many of the things that normally make up a CAP Class. Fortunately, our team has quite a… Read more »
On a serendipitous sunny day in February, forces aligned to restore Coal Creek from the 2013 floods. Lafayette CAP Outdoor students from Centaurus High School and Angevine Middle School worked with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, the City of Lafayette, and Biologists from University of Colorado to plant willows to shore up the banks of the flood-damaged… Read more »
The Angevine Middle School CAP class recognizes that one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases is food waste, and they decided to do something about it. From giving out recipes and ingredients to low-income families, to turning tired Thanksgiving leftovers into delicious meals, to performing a rap and making a mural to educate their… Read more »
Overview The CAP Program is an award-winning elective class offered during the school day for academic credit. During CAP, students meet in class 3-5 days per week, challenge themselves on hikes and overnight camping trips, explore inspiring solutions to hyper-local environmental issues, choose an issue to address as a class, and collaborate with other local… 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 »
As Cottonwood Institute (CI) enters our third year of programming for Nature Kids / Jovenes de la Naturaleza (Nature Kids) Program in Lafayette, CO, it is time to look back on what we have accomplished the previous two years. Nature Kids is a five-year, $10 million collective impact project led by Thorne Nature Experience that… Read more »
