Several young Bermudian writers have been honoured for their contributions to the inaugural Blue Halo Writing Contest.Students from across the Island submitted poems and essays explaining what the ocean means to them, and how the creating of the Bermuda Blue Halo could benefit Bermuda.Gabrielle Reid, 12, was declared the winner in the poetry competition with her entry “Whispers of the Sea”, which described the hurt the ocean feels from pollution.And Nasir Simmons won the essay competition with his entry, which took the view that we should look at the ocean as our house and take better care of it, asking: “If our house was polluted by people we did not know, how would we feel?”Second place in the essay competition went to Samuel Bleeker and third place to Carlos Sousa. Hannah Horsfield took second place for her poetry entry and Amori Simons placed third.Environment and Planning Minister Sylvan Richards presented the youngsters with their prizes last week in a ceremony at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, encouraging them to continue to hone their writing skills. He also emphasised his pleasure that the children were so enthusiastic and concerned about the environment.OSF, Marine Locker and Triangle Diving provided prizes for the students, while the Pew Charitable Trusts sponsored the event.