media statement Western Australian Students Explore Biodiversity through the Camera Lens

PERTH, Western Australia, 10 November 2015 – Almost 2,000 entries were received from 100 schools across the State for the 2015 Chevron Focus Environment photographic competition.

For the past 12 years, the annual photographic and caption competition has been encouraging students to be aware of their environment and reinforce the need to safeguard ecosystems for future generations.

Chevron Australia’s Senior Environmental Manager Russell Lagdon congratulated the 36 finalists from 18 different Western Australian schools and praised the high quality of entries.

“At Chevron, protecting the environment is one of our core values,” Mr Lagdon said.

“We support the Chevron Focus Environment competition as a way to strengthen
community awareness and engagement in conservation and support environmental stewardship.

“Schools can play a significant role in educating students about the need to develop energy in ways that respect and protect our environment.

“The calibre of photographs and captions produced this year were outstanding and we thank the schools involved for encouraging their students to enter.”

The competition includes three photo categories, each reflecting Chevron Australia’s values and the environment:

  • Celebrating Human Energy and Sustainability in WA: Capturing Western Australians minimising their impact on the natural environment
  • WA’s Habitats and Ecosystems: Highlighting animal and plant habitats and how important these are in protecting WA’s rich biodiversity.
  • WA’s Native Species: Celebrating the vast array of unique species endemic to Western Australia.

Winning entries were selected by a panel based on the quality of their photograph, the accompanying caption and the relevance of the subject matter.

The competition was open to all Western Australian school students from Kindergarten to Year 12.

Chevron is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies and through its Australian subsidiaries, has been present in Australia for more than 60 years. With the ingenuity and commitment of thousands of workers, Chevron Australia leads the development of the Gorgon and Wheatstone natural gas projects; manages its equal one-sixth interest in the North West Shelf Venture; operates Australia’s largest onshore oilfield on Barrow Island, is a significant investor in exploration offshore Australia and provides operational support to exploration assets operated by its affiliates in New Zealand.