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We Are Ready: Cottonwood Institute Instructors Learn It All!

From allergy symptoms to lost participants to severed fingers…sounds like an instructor’s worst nightmare, doesn’t it? No worries, these were just scenarios played out during our fall instructor training course to ensure that our instructors are prepared for the worst, but ready to deliver the best courses possible! On a cloudy and chilly morning, 13… Read more »

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Earth Task Force Recognized for Green Prize and Receives $10,000 Check!

Last February, Earth Task Force (ETF) students and staff, co-wrote a grant application for the National Environmental Education Foundation’s (NEEF) Green Prize Award. The Green Prize is a national contest for schools across the country with a prize of $10,000 to help fund the winning schools’ sustainability efforts.  In 2011, over 100 schools from around… Read more »

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Earth Task Force Students Keep It Clean

When anybody in Boulder litters, sooner or later it ends up in the creek and river system.   Not only does this destroy diverse creek ecosystems, but it also contaminates the water. Contamination is the last thing the river system needs because much of the water in Colorado runs off into the rest of the country,… Read more »

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Earth Task Force Brings ACE to New Vista High School!

On September 8th, 2011, the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) visited New Vista High School (NVHS) for a very special annual treat. Amy Atkins, a senior educator for ACE, with the help of the Earth Task Force (ETF),  presented an interactive video with a mission to educate and inspire students to battle climate change.  … Read more »

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GOAL Students Succeed Both Online and Outdoors!

Online students are not desk bound as far as GOAL Academy is concerned.  On a couple of warm sunny days this past summer Cottonwood Institute teamed up with GOAL Academy, Guided Online Academic Learning, to host two one-day survival courses for their students. Working with our amazing instructors and GOAL chaperones, the students used the… Read more »

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Mt Evans Volunteers Rock out with Rocks

Retaining steps, single jacks, short pick, crush, pinners, gargoyles…don’t know what any of that means?  This year the Cottonwood Institute teamed up with Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) to work on the trail from Summit Lake to the summit of Mt. Evans.  Our crew spent two beautiful days around 14,000 feet using these tools to improve… Read more »

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Restaurants and Raccoons: Snooze Survived!

Ask yourself one question. Would you know how to skin a raccoon if stranded in the wilderness?  Most of us would answer no.  But for the the staff at Snooze A.M. Eatery attending this unique one-day survival retreat, their answer is a resounding, “Yes!” On a warm summer day this past August, managers at Snooze… Read more »

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Sun + Salamanders + Survival = One Awesome Family Survival Course!

As the salamanders relaxed in the stillness of the early morning waters, and the plants soaked up the first rays of the morning sun, off in the distance there was a faint, yet distinct sound of children’s laughter and the crunch of twigs underfoot.  Cottonwood Institute’s survival course was underway once again at Taylor Mountain…. Read more »

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$25,000 And How 1 Click Will Make A Huge Difference

1 click and 30 seconds of your time will make a huge difference in the lives of our students. The Cottonwood Institute is excited to be one of 10 amazing national organizations nominated for the 2011 Markham Vineyards Mark of Distinction Award and a chance to win $25,000. The top two organizations with the most… Read more »