Christine Brissette, class of 2003, liked the high school very much. She played soccer, participated in the school plays, and was a Minnesinger. She had a broad range of friends across all class levels, and was a well-rounded student.
She chose to go to McGill University in Montreal. However, after a year, Christine wanted to travel, to “get out of my academic head,” as she put it. She volunteered with a service organization in Guatemala, followed by a study-abroad program in India. For those 18 months, she worked in teams of locals and volunteers, “learning by doing,” using whatever resources were available, and helping communities to help themselves.
In 2006, Christine received a fellowship from M.V. Vision Fellowship, a nonprofit that “empowers promising Islanders who are committed to the environmental and social sustainability of Martha’s Vineyard.” This allowed her to continue her education at the University of Vermont in ecological community development and design. She would return to the Vineyard in the summers to waitress and clean houses. Through the fellowship, Christine was able to do internships at Polly Hill Arboretum, focusing on native plants for restoration and conservation. These experiences introduced her to ecological restoration, which has since been the focus of Christine’s life’s work.
After graduation, Christine headed West to explore the ecology of that vast area. Her brother, Jarret, had a house in Missoula, Mont., and Christine moved in, with the understanding that she would have to work for him one day a week, primarily building a stone wall. She had no idea how to build a stone wall, but she gathered the information, taught herself, and did it. She found that she loved working outside, and working in the earth, especially with native plants. She found work at a native plant nursery, and was then hired to work with a planting crew in Montana and Idaho. Over time, her job grew to designing and bidding projects.
Christine felt that she needed more knowledge about the work that she was doing, so she took classes at the University of Montana in hydrology, and acquired her master’s degree. This gave her both the academic and experiential knowledge to work in river/stream restoration projects. During this time she met her husband, Kit, who is also part of the conservation world. They now have two little girls, Eliza and Hazel, and are deeply committed to conservation.
In 2018, Christine was hired by Trout Unlimited in Missoula, as a project manager, leading stream restoration projects. Thanks, Christine, for your continued efforts to make our world a better place.
Marge Harris was a teacher at MVRHS for 27 years. You can contact her at margeharris@comcast.net. This column appears twice a month.
