Students at Nashwaak Valley Elementary School celebrated the grand opening of their new outdoor classroom earlier this month in Durham Bridge, New Brunswick.

After four weeks of voting by Canadians across the country last spring, Nashwaak Valley (the only New Brunswick school in the finals) was named the winner of the 2014 Majesta Trees of Knowledge competition.  After garnering the most votes for their original video, they won a $20,000 outdoor classroom along with expert consultation from Tree Canada and outdoor learning curriculum support from Focus on Forests.

"We're a school of 125 students and we were competing against much larger schools across the country, yet we still captured the most votes,” said Natasha Spencer, Principal of Nashwaak Valley Elementary.

Spencer credits the amazing community effort of  students, teachers, parents, staff, neighbourhoods, local businesses and local media.

"Just about everyone was involved in promoting Majesta online votes for our school," Spencer said.

The outdoor classroom was designed with input from the students. The new space includes picnic tables, a covered area for students to work outside, an outdoor learning space with logs and stumps shaved back for students to sit, and a collection of outdoor musical instruments, as well as new trees and shrubs planted in the area.

"We really appreciate Irving Tissue and its partners Tree Canada and Focus on Forests for making this national contest available. For a small school in a small community, this really has been a dream come true."

Congratulations Nashwaak Valley - enjoy learning outdoors!

Watch to learn more about the annual MAJESTA Trees of Knowledge Competition.

About MAJESTA:
MAJESTA, the soft and green choice for household paper products, offers an innovative line of e•z flush bathroom tissue that provides the perfect balance of softness and flushability. MAJESTA e•z flush breaks down quickly in water, making it ideal for homes with low flow and dual flush toilets. Learn more at www.majesta.com.

MAJESTA products are made from trees from J.D. Irving, Limited’s forests. As part of its award-winning commitment to responsible forest management, J.D. Irving, Limited plants seedlings every spring and summer to reforest the woodlands. In the past 50+ years, J.D. Irving, Limited has planted more than 940 million trees. Since 2001, J.D. Irving, Limited’s forests have been certified by The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (“SFI”). In the U.S., the company’s forests are also certified under the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC® C041515). Part of the J.D. Irving Group of Companies, a family business in operation for more than 132 years, MAJESTA’s head office is located in Dieppe, New Brunswick.

The MAJESTA promise: We plant three trees for every one we use to produce MAJESTA products. Both soft and green, MAJESTA delivers the softness you can feel and feel good about.

About Tree Canada:
Tree Canada is a not-for-profit, charitable organization established in 1992. Under the direction of an 11-member volunteer Board of Directors, Tree Canada provides education, technical assistance, resources and financial support through working partnerships to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in rural and urban areas.

About Focus on Forests:
Focus on Forests provides hands-on activities and support materials to assist teachers of all grade levels. The lesson plans are well organized and designed to be easily adapted to any teaching environment or grade level. Focus on Forests is a program of Forest Ontario. Together with Tree Canada, these two groups have combined their efforts to bring this forest education program to a Canada-wide audience and highlight the value that Focus on Forests plays in introducing forests to Canadian classrooms. This exciting new partnership is supported by Irving Consumer Products, the makers of MAJESTA household paper products.

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Contact:
Mary Keith 
Vice President Communications 
J.D. Irving, Limited 
506-632-5122 
506-650-8209 (cell) 
keith.mary@jdirving.com