Brighton High School students will have the opportunity to study ecology in Ecuador as part of a new global education program.
Science teacher Melissa Super-Greene is developing a field ecology class that will allow students to explore several ecosystems over the course of 12 days.
“High schools do so many travel trips, and what separates this is we’re putting state-approved curriculum to it and the kids are getting credit for it,” she said.
Students will begin studying ecology in after school classes before traveling to Ecuador in June 2014.
The class will start their trip in the capital of Quito, where they will do some general sightseeing and visit an inactive volcano. They will also travel to Casa del Suizo in the Amazon Rainforest where they will have the opportunity to visit the Amazoonico wildlife refuge center, explore the Bella Vista Cloud Forest on the Western Slope of the Andes, and travel to Ayampe to visit a school.
“All in all, they will see about four different ecosystems and they’ll compare and contrast the benefits of each one,” Super-Greene said.
Sophomores Avalyn Thomas, Michaela Dietrich and Jordan Lemke are excited to be participating in the class. Dietrich said she is eager to speak Spanish while experiencing a different culture, Lemke said he wants to see the Coriolis Effect, and Thomas said she wants to see how people live in other parts of the world.
“I think it’s going to show us how lucky we are in America,” she said.
Super-Greene saw an opportunity for this kind of a class while teaching in Brush. When she started at BHS last year, she brought the program with her and was able to collaborate with administration and the Department of Education to create a curriculum students can get credit for.
“I would like to see the kids walk away with not only a really great educational experience but a good life experience that prepares them for after high school, where they get different opportunities,” she said.According to Super-Greene, there is still room available in the class. She said the trip will cost $3,600 per student and that they will be participating in a number of fundraisers.
The class’ first fundraiser will be a golf tournament scheduled for 8 a.m. Aug 25 at Riverdale Golf Course. The tee-time tournament will kick off with a helicopter golf ball drop.
Super-Greene explained those who wish to support the class will be able to purchase golf balls that will be dropped from the helicopter on the driving range. She said the person with the golf balls closest to the tee will win prizes such as a trip to Costa Rica, a $50,000 prize and Disney tickets.
Register for the tournament or purchase a golf ball online by visiting http://lu6717.wix.com/brightonhs. Participation in the tournament will cost $85 for one person, $170 for two people, $255 for three people and $340 for four people. Participants can purchase one golf ball for $10, two golf balls for $20, three golf balls for $27, five golf balls for $40, 10 golf balls for $80 and 25 golf balls for $175.
The class is also planning a community sweetheart’s ball Feb. 15, 2014, at the Armory. She said they are also accepting cash donations.
Super-Greene said she is hoping to make the class a sustainable program and that high school administration is considering this course a pilot program. She said the overall goal is for the school to be able to offer field courses in different subject areas where a student might be able to travel to London to study British Literature or Washington, D.C., to study government.

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Written by Crystal Nelson. Originally published in the Brighton Standard Blade on July 24, 2013.

Thanks to Melissa Super-Greene for sharing this article.