17. August, 2023
From July 31 to August 5, Sniedze Vise, an environmental expert at the Science and Education Innovation Center of the Liepaja Municipal Education Department, Astra Labuce, a zooplankton taxonomist and ecologist at the Latvian Institute of Hydroecology, and Andris Andrusaitis, the Latvian coordinator of the international project “BaltiCities”, together with 9 (nine) Latvian students, that are passionate in environmental research, participated in the international Baltic Sea camp “Learning by doing”, which took place at the Tvärminnen zoological station of the University of Helsinki. A total of 35 young people from Latvia, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania participated in the camp.
The Tvärminnen zoological station of the University of Helsinki is one of the oldest research stations in the Baltic Sea, where 200 to 300 scientists come every year to carry out research work. “It is definitely a valuable experience for young people – to get to a place where they can get to know the sea through the eyes of scientists, to gain awareness of the impact of their actions in preserving it and to gain encouragement for choosing a future career,” emphasizes Sniedze.
The content of the camp was related to getting to know the ecology of the Baltic Sea through lectures and workshops. Analyzes were carried out and it was found out whether microplastics are found in the researched fish, plankton and benthic samples collected in the laboratory were studied, and various research tools available in the laboratory were learned. Young people also got to know the depths of the sea by snorkeling. At the end of the camp, the young people developed short films about the Baltic Sea, in which they convey their message, telling both about its ecological condition and how to save and preserve it for future generations, as well as what the young people themselves experience when living near the sea.
“Initially, only those young Latvians who have successfully proven themselves in the last year’s scientific research work of schoolchildren at the state-level conference in sections related to environmental research were approached for participation in the international level camp,” says Kitija Kuduma, Acting Manager of the Science and Education Innovation Center. Several water-related topics were defended at the conference, for example, Marija Obraztsova, a student from Jelgava, with the topic “Differences in the composition of washed – out macrophyte algae species on the coast of the open part of the Baltic Sea and on the coast of the Gulf of Riga, Sniedze adds. “We are particularly proud of the work of Ieva Ilze Jarutes, a student of Oskar Kalpak’s 15th high school in Liepaja, on the topic “Qualitative indicators of ecosystems in Lake Liepaja and the Karosta Canal and their possible influencing factors”, which was carried out using the research tools available at the Science and Education Innovation Center,” highlights Sniedze. Without completing the full membership, career counselors from Liepaja’s educational institutions and Liepaja’s “Youth House” were invited to get involved and they addressed young people who are known to be passionate about environmental research. As a result, a group for an international level camp was completed, which was represented by the following young people from Latvia:
“Some of the participants have completed their studies at the level of general education and are currently starting at one of the higher education institutions in faculties where biologists, doctors and engineers are taught, so there is reason to believe that the young people spent not only a simple educational part of their summer vacation, but actually acquired knowledge useful for the profession and skills,” notes Kitija.
The involvement of the Science and Education Innovation Center of the Liepaja Municipal Education Department in the “BaltiCities” project, including the organization and implementation of the camp, became possible and is a successful continuation thanks to the event organized in June, when the ship of the European scientific fleet “Aranda” docked in Liepaja.
The camp as a whole was organized and implemented by the Finnish Environmental Research Center SYKE within the framework of the international project in cooperation with the Science and Education Innovation Center of Liepaja Municipal Education Department, the Latvian Institute of Hydroecology, the Tartu Nature House (Tartu loodusmaja), Klaipeda University and Harakka Nature Center.
Additional information
Opportunity to participate in the Baltic Sea Shores Stories contest by filming a 1 (one) minute long story about the Baltic Sea. More information on the website https://balticseashorestories.com/
Photo: Holma Lukas Theo Sebastian (Finland)
21. November, 2023
From August 16 to 19, the Science and Education Innovation Center of Liepaja Municipal Education Department, Pēteris Lapiņš, an expert…
