Have you ever experienced the full potential of what nature can offer? Students at KIPP Montbello Collegiate High School, as part of the Cottonwood Institute’s Community Adventure Program, were able to experience nature up close and personal when they took a snowshoe trip to the mountains at Caribou Ranch. As the bus arrived in the parking lot,… Read more »
The act of making a fire connects us back to our ancestors of more than 100,000 years ago. Huddling around a fire for warmth, sustenance and community is something that too few of us get to experience in our modern world. But on a snowy day at the end of January, in a sheltered grove… Read more »
The Middle School students at STRIVE Prep – Sunnyside are creative visionaries. Their interests in art, writing and self-expression have allowed them to cultivate an authentic experience through the Cottonwood Institute’s Community Adventure Program at their school during fall of 2015. After spending several weeks on team-building initiatives, nature awareness activities, and an exciting overnight camping trip… Read more »
Setting out from New Vista High School on our overnight trips with the Community Adventure Program (CAP) this quarter, the weather wavered between clear and sunny and cool and rainy. It was officially the last hints of summer and the start of fall fully setting in. The energy was high, as students of all different… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute is honored to partner with Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Inspire Initiative and three community hubs that were just each awarded $100,000 planning grants to help get kids off the couch and out the door from the backyard to the backcountry. The planning grants will help each community hub further refine their projects and… Read more »
The sun shined promisingly as a group of adventurous teenage girls met in the Centaurus High School parking lot, ready for a night of backpacking in the woods. The girls knew each other from school, but still had some familiarizing to do as a group. One thing they all had in common was being part… Read more »
Every trip has that seminal moment where you realize what makes it unique from others. This holds true for our last Cottonwood Institute adventure to Sanborn Western Camps in Florissant, CO. The sole purpose of this weekend excursion was to reach out to military families in the Denver/Colorado Springs area and provide a relaxing, fun, and… Read more »
A couple weeks ago, Cottonwood Institute teamed up with Casa de la Esperanza, a housing community in Longmont hosted by Boulder County Housing Authority, and engaged seven kids, one chaperon, and two Cottonwood Instructors in a weekend adventure exploring new lands. As the bus pulled away from the city and entered the luscious green of the Boulder… Read more »
STRIVE Prep – Montbello and STRIVE Prep – Excel took memorable trips out to Mission: Wolf for a wolf lickin’, tree cuttin’, hay stackin’, night hikin’, stargazin’ good time! During our stay at the sanctuary, we had the opportunity to participate in a number of exciting activities; some highlights included team-building games, a night hike… Read more »
“Do not try this at home.” The instructions were crystal clear, and meant to be taken with the utmost seriousness. Yet for some odd reason, we as a crowd could not help but chuckle collectively, as we sat under the setting sun watching our friends perform stunning break-dance moves such as “The Grinder.” It was the perfect way… Read more »
