Britney Robinson's summer vacation will take her a bit beyond her usual trip to Atlanta.

As part of winning an essay and speech contest, the rising high school sophomore will spend a week in the Galapagos Islands studying the environment and biology.

"You'll never get another chance like this to learn about the Earth," the 14-year-old A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet High School student said.

The trip is an opportunity she wouldn't have without winning the Frank Ski Kids Foundation science contest.

The foundation, named for an Atlanta radio personality, is paying all of the expenses for 10 Georgia students to participate in the program.

Britney, who is the only student from this part of the state to be chosen, wrote her essay on the environment from the perspective of the president and read it aloud at the Georgia Aquarium alongside the other contest finalists.

She wrote about saving the Earth and the effect of global warming on the planet.

"It's getting worse every year," Britney said of global warming.

The polar ice caps are melting, and thousands of species of fish are dying, she said.

"This is all preventable," Britney said.

For instance, people should spend a little more and drive a hybrid automobile to cut back on emissions, which are hurting the ozone layer, she said.

Her adventure in the Galapagos will mark her first time out of the country and her first time on a plane. The trip will cost the foundation about $16,000, she said.

It will be the first time Anjannette Robinson will be away from her daughter.

"When she read her speech, I was just about to cry," she said, expressing her pride.

According to the Frank Ski Kids Foundation, it is also the first time a black organization has brought students to the Galapagos Islands.

The 10 winning students also were given iPod Nanos, tennis shoes, hiking boots and other prizes, Britney said.