MIDDLE MUSQUODOBOIT: A Musquodoboit Rural High School (MRHS) students’ proposal aimed at designing a community space at Touquoy’s lookout area was selected as the winner of the St. Barbara competition.
St Barbara Mining and their subsidiary, Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia, announced Megan McCurdy as the winner of the contest, which saw 17 proposals submitted from three schools.
The competition was held to design a community space at Touquoy’s lookout area, as part of the former mine’s reclamation process.
St Barbara received 17 proposals from three schools: Musquodoboit Rural High School (Middle Musquodoboit), Marine Drive Academy (Sheet Harbour); and Northumberland Regional High School (Pictou).
A committee of five members from the Atlantic Operations team anonymously reviewed the proposals and selected McCurdy’s proposal as the winner.
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As a result of McCurdy’s win, MRHS received $25,000and her proposal will be reviewed with a landscape architect to develop the final design for implementation. Marine Drive Academy and Northumberland Regional High School will receive $1,000 for their participation.
McCurdy said she’s been heavily driven by her academics throughout her school career.
“Having my proposal selected as the winner for this competition made myself proud of all of the work I’ve put in,” she told The Laker News in an interview.
“As this is my last year I’m hoping being chosen as the winner will help me leave a positive mark on my school.”
She said the submitted proposals had to be feasible for St. Barbara to complete and honour that it was previously a mining site.
“Because there is a large ATV community who often stop around the mine and it would be a good way to increase tourism, my proposal outlined the addition of a park in the reclaimed space,” she explained.
“The feature of this park would be an educational walk through the steps of mining, to hopefully inform the public about the precautions and process of mining. “
She said the plaque describing the reclamation step would be located at a look off over one of the previous mining holes.
“This allows people to feel involved and see firsthand that mining doesn’t have to have a negative impact on the environment,” she said.
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The news that she won came during exam week and while she was in bed when her principal called.
“My first thought was “oh no what did I do?” said McCurdy. “But after she informed me, I was proud of my achievement, and it made my day having been successful.
“I immediately told my family who had known that I entered the competition and were eagerly awaiting results.”
McCurdy said she’s been getting a lot of congratulations and praise from staff and students.
“Seeing that I work at a prominent business in the community, I have also had various members congratulating me and asking about my proposal,” she said.
Andrew Strelein, Director of Atlantic Mining Nova Scotia, said McCurdy’s dedication was evident as she engaged with all members of the Atlantic Operations team in one-on-one conversations and left a tour of the mine site with over eight pages of notes.
“Megan’s proposal skillfully integrated aspects of environment, community, safety, history, and modern mining while remaining feasible and practical,” he said.
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McCurdy said the School Advisory Council gets to decide where the funds are allocated, however, she is part of that group. They have been talking a lot about various learning and program opportunities.
“We have a growing sports community, who have just received a new set of jerseys by fundraising, but it could be nice to get a few more for our junior high students and different patterns for home and away games,” said McCurdy.
“Additionally, we have been looking at getting bleachers in our field and gym as most people bring their own chairs to events.
“Finally, the idea of an outside classroom such as an amphitheater has been brought up a few times.
She said overall they have many great programs at the school, and it has been undergoing a lot of development.
“This money will be useful for continuing to grow our school and ensuring students have a pleasant space to learn,” said McCurdy.
