A PROJECT LED THROUGH THE REV

Cottonwood Crossing Summer Institute (CCSI)

A SUMMER YOU WON’T FORGET

Make lifelong friends – Float the John Day River – Learn how to study our natural resources and local heritage – Produce media that will be shared by Oregon State Parks

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Cottonwood Crossing Summer Institute (CCSI) is a week-long residential field studies program for high school students held in Cottonwood Canyon State Park. Participants choose from course options where they learn about locally significant cultural or natural resources. Projects are led by EOU faculty, EOU students, and other regional professionals. High school students will earn college credit for EOU.

COURSES INCLUDE:

Geology

Neuroscience
Visual Storytelling
Riparian Ecosystems

Cost to attend: $350 and scholarships are available.

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Four Eastern Oregon University students are hired as paid student interns for the week of CCSI at Cottonwood Canyon State Park as CCSI Mentors. These mentors assist the instructors of the high school students and monitor the students’ experience.

“I love the outdoors,” said Colby Stroller, a 2024 CCSI Mentor. “I wanted to inspire the next generation of students that science isn’t just based in the classroom with a bunch of textbooks. It’s real.”

Are you a high school student? Learn more and apply.

Let REV know you're interested in being a CCSI Mentor

Are you an educator interested in an experience of learning while living in the outdoors (and earning professional development units while doing so)? Learn about our program for you: Cottonwood Canyon Teaching Institute.

View highlights from past years of Cottonwood Canyon Summer Institute.

In the News…

SUMMER INSTITUTES AT EOU PROVIDE MORE THAN OPPORTUNITY, THEY PROVIDE CREDIT HOURS

March 10, 2023
NewsofOregon.com

The Summer Institutes at Eastern Oregon University (EOU) are a great way for high school students to keep learning through the summer as well as earn college credit. The institutes are designed to allow high school students to experience campus, explore different colleges and majors, and get started on their path to becoming a Mountaineer.

COTTONWOOD CROSSING SUMMER INSTITUTE MARKS EIGHT YEARS OF OUTDOOR LEARNING

State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality: Air, Land & Water
August 27, 2021

For eight years, high school students in rural communities have earned college credits and learned about watershed science in the outdoor classroom provided by the Cottonwood Crossing Summer Institute. The program includes hands-on learning at Cottonwood Canyon State Park, Oregon’s largest at 8,000 acres.