Loreburn Looking for Support in 2013 Majesta Contest

Last year, Swift Current's Central School called on the city and the province to support them in their successful quest to win the Majesta Trees of Knowledge competition and help make a new outdoor classroom possible.

Now, the community of Loreburn is doing the same, as they were named the lone Saskatchewan finalist in the running to win a $20,000 grant for their school in their year's contest.

"We've been talking about doing an outdoor classroom for a while, trying to get funding for it, and one of the teachers had come across this program and had asked the students if they wanted to take part," said Jill Long, a staff member at Loreburn Central School. "They jumped on board very quickly, started a committee, divided up into who wanted to make the video, who wanted to do the budget, who wanted to do the plan, and it kind of steamrolled from there with their enthusiasm."

Central School put on an intensive campaign that included flash mobs, YouTube videos and voting drives for last spring's Majesta contest, and after winning the competition last May, built their classroom through the summer for a grand opening in October. The classroom features interactive outdoor learning spaces, new trees, and a gazebo in the school's front yard.

"I haven't been there personally, but we've seen pictures and, of course, we've watched their video, and we've contacted their school to try and get their support to help vote for us, also," Long added.

"Our town is pretty small, so I don't know if a flash mob will work very good in it," said Jillian, a student at the school. "We've been calling all over and we're all over Twitter and Facebook, so we're trying our hardest."

Loreburn is a community of just 100 people about a 200-kilometre drive northeast of Swift Current, and the school is a K-12 school with about 100 students from Loreburn, Elbow and Strongfield.

Voting in the competition is now underway and you can vote daily at majestatreesofknowledge.ca until April 26, 2013.