Academic Resources
The Cottonwood Institute’s educational philosophy is based upon two major tenets: environmental education and service-learning. We wanted to take the opportunity to define these and other pedagogical...
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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...
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Backpacking, Hiking, and Exploring with CAP
This spring, the Community Adventure Program (CAP) at New Vista High School had many amazing outdoor experiences! Each adventure built upon the last, as the students grew into competent and excited...
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Littleton Academy Students Earn Their Wolf Kisses
From brilliant sunshine to whipping wind to glistening snowflakes, Littleton Academy 5th graders saw it all this spring at Mission: Wolf, a wolf and horse sanctuary in the remote Colorado mountains...
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“How Do Wolves Give Fish Cold Water?” STRIVE Prep Students Visit Mission: Wolf
In early June, Cottonwood Institute led a group of students from STRIVE Preparatory Schools’ Excel campus to Mission: Wolf, a solar-powered wolf sanctuary in Westcliffe, Colorado. The group spent four...
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Backpacking, Wolves, and Horses: Colorado Academy Students Visit and Work at...
When the high school students of Colorado Academy signed up for the “Endangered Wolves” end of the year interim trip during the last few week of May, they weren’t completely sure what to expect. What...
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Flood Recovery at Cal-Wood: Students from CYC Rebuild Trails
New best friends were made and hiking trails were made usable once more after eleven girls from the Colorado Youth for Change (CYC) program went to Cal-Wood for two nights. In early June, Cottonwood...
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STRIVE Sunnyside and Green Valley Ranch Join Forces and Head to the Hills!
In mid-May, students from STRIVE Prep Sunnyside and Green Valley Ranch campuses enjoyed one of the first sunny and warm weekends of the spring. Students from both campuses came together for a...
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Fossils, Fun, and Camping with Military Kids and Families
A bus full of excited and energetic military families emerges from the traffic and craziness of the cities of Denver and Colorado Springs into the wonder that is Colorado wilderness. Thanks to Sanborn...
View ArticleThe Perfect Mix: Enthusiastic Cottonwood Institute Instructors & A Warm Sunny...
Cottonwood Institute (CI) headed to the mountains to explore with an enthusiastic, down-to-earth, bunch of new and well-versed instructors! Our annual instructor training was held at Calwood Education...
View ArticleCAP Class Builds Group Cohesion and Raises Team Morale
The Community Adventure Program (CAP) students from New Vista High School in Boulder, CO gladly scurried to the mountains for their first overnight trip of the quarter last weekend! The group was more...
View ArticleNew Vista Students Help Boulder “Bee” Pesticide Free!
The Community Adventure Program (CAP) at New Vista High School in Boulder just finished up their spring quarter and student-led Action Project, tackling the very pervasive issue of native bee decline...
View ArticleA Perfect Recipe for the Perfect Adventure!
All recipes call for a variety of ingredients depending on what you are creating. At Cottonwood Institute, we create adventure, and we had the perfect ingredients for the perfect adventure this past...
View ArticleA Wolf Lickin’ Good Time with STRIVE Schools
STRIVE Montbello and STRIVE 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...
View ArticleMilitary Families Appreciate Fire, Fossils, and Fun
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...
View ArticleOld Friendships Shine and New Friendships Emerge
The sun shined promisingly as a group of seven teenage girls met in the Centaurus High School parking lot, ready for a night of backpacking in the woods. With a group of three seniors and four...
View ArticleFlood Recovery at Cal-Wood: Students from CYC Rebuild Trails
New best friends were made and hiking trails were made usable once more after eleven girls from the Colorado Youth for Change (CYC) program went to Cal-Wood for two nights. In early June, Cottonwood...
View ArticleSTRIVE Sunnyside and Green Valley Ranch Join Forces and Head to the Hills!
In mid-May, students from STRIVE Prep Sunnyside and Green Valley Ranch campuses enjoyed one of the first sunny and warm weekends of the spring. Students from both campuses came together for a...
View ArticleFossils, Fun, and Camping with Military Kids and Families
A bus full of excited and energetic military families emerges from the traffic and craziness of the cities of Denver and Colorado Springs into the wonder that is Colorado wilderness. Thanks to Sanborn...
View ArticleThe Perfect Mix: Enthusiastic Cottonwood Institute Instructors & A Warm Sunny...
Cottonwood Institute (CI) headed to the mountains to explore with an enthusiastic, down-to-earth, bunch of new and well-versed instructors! Our annual instructor training was held at Calwood Education...
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