Stayin' Alive

“My biggest frustration is reading stories in the media about these really dramatic life-or-death scenarios people get themselves into, and knowing that most of those survival situations are entirely preventable,” says Ford Church, founder and executive director of the Cottonwood Institute. “With just the tiniest bit of know-how and some...

By Colin Bane

September 9, 2010

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“My biggest frustration is reading stories in the media about these really dramatic life-or-death scenarios people get themselves into, and knowing that most of those survival situations are entirely preventable,” says Ford Church, founder and executive director of the Cottonwood Institute. “With just the tiniest bit of know-how and some basic supplies, almost any of those stories could have been avoided altogether.”

The Cottonwood Institute primarily works with schools and community organizations to connect young people with the outdoors, and Church has made teaching basic survival skills a top priority: “We want people to connect with the outdoors and have some great ad-ventures. We also want them to be safe and come back!”

Tonight at 7 p.m., the Cottonwood Institute presents a free all-ages workshop on 3-Season Survival Skills at the REI Denver flagship store, 1416 Platte Street.

“With the changing of the seasons, this is an interesting time of year for survival situations in Colorado,” Church says. “You could go from forest-fire risk on one day to heavy snow on the next. We’ll go through some interactive survival scenarios, evaluate key survival priorities and show you a few simple things you can carry in your personal survival kit to keep you from making headlines.” For more information, visit www.cottonwoodinstitute.org.
Wed., Sept. 15, 7 p.m., 2010

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