STUDENTS from the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences of the University of the Philippines-Visayas won several awards in the Youth Environment Camp in Singapore.

The team composed of Kiara Raye Cartojano, Fiona de Castro, Ralph Jasil Escanillas, Antron Mathew Quilantang and Krizyl Morada took the first spot in the Environment Research Paper. They also placed second in the poster competition during the TF-NUS Youth Environment Camp 2022.

Associate Professor Sheila Santander-de Leon served as the group’s adviser.

The UPV said the country teams were re-grouped with other countries for the entire event to tackle specific issues.

Cartojano and Santander-de Leon’s group, who worked on themes under Decarbonization Strategies and Nature-Based Solutions, won third and first place in the Environment Group Presentation, respectively.

“The environment research paper and poster were submitted by the country team prior to the event as part of the participation requirements, while the environment group presentation was prepared during the event,” the university said.

The YEC 2022, an international youth program that aimed to encourage environmental stewardship, was organized by the National University of Singapore and fully sponsored by the Temasek Foundation.

This year’s theme focused on climate change and carbon footprint reduction.

The five-day event gathered youth from Asean member countries ages 17-20 and provided them the platform “to network and work together to address environmental issues in Asia.”

The program included lectures, hands-on workshops, learning journeys and student presentations anchored on environmental themes.