Towards responsible environmental action by raising awareness of our lakes

Project “Towards responsible environmental action through a better understanding of our lakes” (in Latvian ”Ceļā uz atbildīgu vides rīcību, padziļinot izpratni par mūsu ezeriem”) 1-08/85/2022 funded by Latvian Environment Protection Fund

Lakes in Latvia are an essential part of the environment, providing a variety of ecosystem services such as beautiful landscapes, biodiversity and climate regulation. However, many lakes are doomed to overgrow from the moment they are formed, which is the natural life cycle of a lake. Our actions can speed up the process or slow it down. The aim of this project is to use citizen science, involving Latvian schoolchildren, to study lakes and other smaller bodies of water to assess their overgrowth and ecological status. The project will educate and raise awareness about freshwater as a valuable and sustainable resource and source of various ecosystem services among children and young people .

LIAE is a project partner whose main task is to ensure the scientific activities of the project:
– prepare and send lake exploration kit to schools so that students and their teacher can survey the lake;
– participate in interactive educational events in schools together with the project coordinator and writer Agnese Vanaga introducing students to lake ecology;
– collect data from students and give an educational lecture to present the results of lake water surveys. Status report for 31.08.23. Available here;
– organize Researchers’ Night event to promote the importance of lakes and their habitats;
– develop and distribute a digital booklet on the surveyed lakes in Latvia, freshwater habitats and how to protect them.

Project implementer: Baltic Environmental Forum (https://www.bef.lv/). More information here: https://lvafa.vraa.gov.lv/projects/1-08_85_2022