This past summer, twelve West Bloomfield High School students and two teachers went on the educational experience of a lifetime. For the first time ever, teachers Joanne Bols and Nic Fraylick took students who were interested to Yellowstone to learn about the area’s ecology and wildlife. Both teachers opened up the opportunity to their classes last year for anyone who wanted to go. “Mrs. Bols asked and I jumped at the opportunity,” said student Dean Eggenberger, junior, about how he got involved.

During this trip the students got their hands dirty going hiking, building traps, rafting, and helping to remove fences to help fish migration.  Being in that type of environment gave students an experience they have never had before. “The number one highlight for me was probably when we hiked to a pond and had a lesson about ecology,” Jordan Ruge, junior, said.

The teachers and students enjoyed the trip. Along with the fun, they learned from the trip as well. “More about preservation of species and about the endangered population,”  student Serena Mansoor, junior, said were some new things she learned from the trip. For many other students, learning about the ecosystem was a big topic they focused on.

During the trip everyone faced some challenges. From not having their every day things to the amount of walking. “The weather changed a lot during this trip, we didn’t know if it would rain or not, it creeped on us,” said student Sarah Shore, junior, about the biggest challenge involved. Both Fraylick and Bols say that the biggest challenge for them was the planning of the trip. Planning and getting approval took around two years.