What to do with a stairway with south-facing windows and a warm radiator that is in plain view of passing students? Build a window garden, of course! Students in the Community Adventure Program (CAP) at STRIVE Prep – Sunnyside perceived a lack of access to healthy, fresh food in their community and wanted to inspire their fellow… Read more »
It has been another energizing and successful year! We are excited to announce Cottonwood Institute’s annual top 10 inspiring stories from 2016. Thanks to all who voted on our Cottonwood Institute Facebook Page! So what were our students up to this year? Check it out! New Cottonwood Institute Video: Watch. Like. Share. Do You Believe in… Read more »
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) announced that the Nature Kids/Jovenes de la Naturaleza (NKJN) Coalition in Lafayette, CO, which Cottonwood Institute is a lead partner for, won a $2.8M Inspire Initiative grant! NKJN will focus on a one-square mile area, in a network of public schools serving the lowest income children in the Boulder Valley School District…. Read more »
2016 has been an incredible year and we have big plans for 2017. Here are our “Top 5 Reasons To Invest In Cottonwood Institute” for #GivingTuesday and #COGivesDay this year: 1. We are connecting students to the great outdoors: “My weekend [camping trip] was super peaceful. I enjoyed myself up in the mountains because I… Read more »
Sparkling caverns, trickling waterfalls, a troll’s den, and a bear peering through a window. Does this sound like a fairy story? Settle in while I recount the tale, Dear Reader… Once upon a time, four valiant youths left the city to seek their fortune in the mountains. They boarded a big white carriage which bore them… Read more »
Cottonwood Institute (CI) has been delivering environmental education and service learning programs for the past 13 years and we were curious: What are the CI alumni we taught years ago up to these days and how did our programs impact them reflecting back years later? So we set out to re-engage our alumni what we… Read more »
Recently, STRIVE Prep – Sunnyside Community Adventure Program (CAP) students headed up to the mountains outside Fairplay to explore the Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center. They started off the trip on a beautiful Colorado morning by stopping at Staunton State Park for a short hike. The students learned about compasses and navigation and led the way to Davis… Read more »
For Cottonwood Institute (CI), 2016 has been a wildly successful year! CI coordinated 32 programs, served 391 students, delivered 18,163 program contact hours, and over 6,700 service learning project hours. This would not have been possible without the support of generous donors who help CI connect underserved students to the outdoors and empower them to make… Read more »
We are extremely excited to release our new Cottonwood Institute video! Shot by New Orleans filmmaker, Miles Mumford, this 6 minute video does an excellent job capturing what CI does and the impact we have on our students, the community, and the environment. Help us spread the good word! Watch it, like it, and share… Read more »
The CAP (Community Adventure Program) students of New Vista High School put on their thinking caps to come up with a really unique Action Project topic this quarter: hemp! They found themselves in a peculiar place, with only one persistent student in the class knowing anything at all about this miracle plant whose uses go above and… Read more »
