A photo of youth campers at Danjugan Island in Bulata, Cauayan gazing at the majestic Sulu sunset captured the top prize in the Environment Week photo competition sponsored by the Provincial Environment Office of Negros Occidental. The contest focused on the theme, "Our Seas…Our Life…Our Future".

The photo, entitled Beyond the Horizon, was taken by Clint Alvior, 24, a marine biology graduate of Xavier University, who is pursuing his masteral degree in the same field at Silliman University. Clint, whose parents hail from Ilog, is a conservation officer of the Bacolod-based Negros Forest and Ecological Foundation, Inc.

The picture, to me, shows the astonishment of youth as they reflect on their future and their role in the conservation of nature, said Clint, who won P5,000.

Another sunset film won the second place. Sunburst, taken by 14-year-old Aeson Baldevia, a St. La Salle Integrated School junior, won P3,000 for his photo at Sunburst Bay Resort in his home city, Silay, where migratory birds flock at the end of the day for their food.

A freelance visual artist, Ronnie Baldonado, placed third for his entry, Nature's Gift, a picture taken in the coast of Cauayan. He received P2,000.

Remoleza Reyes, a government employee, and St. Scholasticans Mariana Gaston, 16, and Paulina Española, 15, were the consolation prize winners.

Espanoña took a Bacolod Reclamation shot for her pollution-focused entry while Gaston submitted a photo of a solitary boatman dwarfed by the skyline of Cebu City and Reyes showed a diver's image in a picture taken in Binalbagan.

Olive Siruelo, contest chair, said almost 40 entries were submitted in the competition, which also included a 60-seconder information-education-communication campaign audio-visual, a song-writing contest and an exhibit-booth contest, won by Cabacungan Elementary School of La Castellana from among 25 LGU-supported entries.