Predicting the future by re-imagining the present
The Baltic Sea is far more than a body of water — it is a lifeline to over 90 million people across eight EU nations. It weaves together the identities, economies, and futures of both coastal cities and inland rural communities, supporting everything from traditional livelihoods to cutting-edge industries.
For generations, it has been a source of Food security, through fisheries and aquaculture. It is one of the busiest transport and trade corridors of Europe, with approximately 200 ports ranging from large international hubs to smaller regional and industrial ports via bustling ports and shipping corridors . The eight EU countries bordering the Baltic Sea share a rich and diverse cultural heritage that is deeply rooted in a shared relationship with nature and the sea. This cultural connector fosters a strong tradition of respect for the environment, inter-generational knowledge, and community cohesion.The Baltic Region is a hotbed for innovation, leading the way in offshore wind energy, critical for Europe’s green transition, sustainable maritime transport and smart shipping corridors, and water technology, including nutrient reduction and circular solutions. The Blue Economy offers Jobs and economic development, particularly in coastal tourism, blue biotechnology, and marine services, as well as fisheries and aquacultures.
But this lifeline is under threat. Decades of nutrient pollution, unsustainable land practices, and warming temperatures have created the largest dead zone in Europe, choking oxygen from the seabed and endangering the food chain. Other environmental threats include over-fishing, marine litter, plastic pollution, and invasive species - the big 5. We believe the solution to common problems starts with connection. The Baltic Living Lab convenes schools, researchers, public institutions, and NGOs to co-create blue solutions through education, experimentation, and real-world collaboration. Our mission is to create the right environment, culture, and support systems that encourage people and organizations to think creatively to solve real-world problems
✅ Engage in community-powered citizen science ✅ Empower youth as agents of change
✅ Support Educators become effective learning facilitators of Blue Literacy
✅ Contribute to informed policy-making by driving policy with evidence and impact
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The Baltic Living Lab is a dynamic platform designed to tackle the complex challenges facing the Baltic Sea by activating Collaborative Leadership and working across multiple nexus—where critical systems intersect. From the water–climate–energy nexus to the education–policy–community connection, this living lab fosters holistic, cross-sectoral collaboration, bringing together schools, researchers, policymakers, NGOs, businesses, and citizens in a shared space of experimentation and dialogue. Participants co-create actionable solutions that address eutrophication, ecosystem degradation, and climate resilience—while also advancing innovation, equity, and sustainability.
By championing inclusive leadership and mutual learning, the Lab strengthens the links between science and society, governance and education, and local knowledge and regional policy. It empowers participants to listen deeply, act collectively, and lead boldly—turning shared responsibility into regional impact.
In the Baltic Living Lab, real change emerges not from silos, but from the synergy of perspectives and the willingness to lead together across borders and disciplines.
A Knowledge Hub for Collaborative Leadership
Across the Multiple Helix
understanding of how Earth's marine and freshwater systems influence life, climate, and ecosystems — and how human actions affect the health, resilience, and sustainability of these aquatic environments
The Baltic Living Lab showcases innovative Blue School projects designed to strengthen Blue Literacy across the hydrosphere — the interconnected system of all Earth's water bodies. This includes oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, estuaries, reservoirs, groundwater, and watersheds, spanning both marine and freshwater environments.
Through dynamic open-schooling methodologies, these projects foster collaboration between students, educators, and the wider community — including local authorities, scientists, Blue Economy leaders, NGOs, and residents. By placing young learners at the center of real-world environmental challenges, the Baltic Living Lab encourages curiosity, co-creation, and actionable learning.
All activities directly contribute to the EU Mission: “Restore Our Oceans and Waters by 2030”, empowering coastal and inland communities to become active stewards of their local aquatic ecosystems.
Hands-on experiential learning promotes citizen science at an early age, where students from primary- and secondary-school classrooms actively collect and analyze environmental data, share their experience through storytelling, and connecting with their community to inspire change
BLUE LITERACY:
Think of Blue Literacy as the what and why — the knowledge and values — that transforms learners into Agents of Change and Stewards of planetary well-being
❉ Awareness & Understanding ❉ Inter-connectedness of climate and water bodies ❉ Biodiversity and Ecosystems ❉ Human Impact affecting both marine and terrestrial ecosystems (pollution, overfishing, agricultural run-off, deforestation, fossil fuels, urbanization, bottom trawling, noise pollution, resource extraction) ❉ stewardship and sustainability behavior
Blue Education is the how — teaching and learning strategies that promote blue literacy
SUSTAINABILITY INSTRUCTION:
Blue education is the process of translating blue literacy into curricula, classroom activities, community engagement, and hands-on projects. Blue education regarding environmental challenges in Earth's water bodies, when combined with green education — addressing terrestrial environmental challenges — makes sustainability real and relevant through experiential learning, citizen science, and collaborative projects. In short, blue literacy is what we aim to build, and blue education is how we get there.
Join the Blue Projects Depot community of educators and researchers, policymakers, Blue Economy industry leaders, NGOs, entrepreneurs, and every-day people explore proven tools, resources, and real-world examples that support sustainability instruction and spark long-term stewardship of our shared blue planet.
Blue Education embraces a rich variety of strategies that empower learners and educators alike—from structured lesson plans and curriculum pathways to hands-on environmental monitoring, citizen science, and immersive digital tools that connect classrooms to real-world challenges
Think of Blue Literacy as the what and why — the knowledge and values — that transform learners into Agents of Change and Stewards of planetary well-being
❉ multimedia public education campaigns ❉ Interactive board games/AR/VR ❉ Community Mapping & Action Plans ❉ Teacher Training guides on blue topics and pedagogy ❉ Exhibitions/Public Events ❉ Twinning programs and cross-border collaboration ❉ physical and virtual mobility between students, teachers, and school administrators ❉ Co-creation workshops with local scientists, NGOs, and fishers ❉ Open access publications
❉ Lesson Plans and Teaching Routes ❉ Water-Quality/Plastic Pollution monitoring and data reporting ❉ biodiversity surveys using citizen science apps
Innovative Blue Projects
Connecting readers with innovative blue school projects supporting the EU mission ocean.
Explore Blue Literacy Practices
Engage with projects driving change across Europe and beyond.
Funding Opportunities Dialogue
Discuss future funding for blue projects and initiatives with stakeholders.
Project Review Insights
Access insights into existing projects fostering transparency and collaboration in blue economy.
Opportunities for Collaboration
SAVE THE DATE - November, 2025
"DIGIBLUE" is this year's challenge at DigiEduHack.com, designed to foster a stronger connection among participants to our vital aquatic ecosystems. This hackathon is more than just an event; it's an opportunity to inspire future generations and instill a sense of blue citizenship.
Denmark - hosted by University of Copenhagen
Estonia - hosted by the Estonian Business School
Poland - hosted by Gdynia Acquarium
Sweden - hosted by Malmö Marine Education Center
Organized by Bonolab, Denmark
Contact: Piret@Bonolab.com
TEACHER TRAINING FOR ESTONIA
OPEN CALLS
Increasing environmental resilience through a better knowledge and management of the soil-water nexus
Deadline: 16 September 2025
EU Mission Lighthouse Coordination and Support Activities
Deadline: 24 September 2025
A toolbox for public authorities to address marine plastics and litter from river-to-ocean
Deadline: 24 September 2025
Second Call for Blue Lights Blue School Projects
Deadline: 25 September 2025
Erasmus+ Small-scale Partnerships (in education, training, school, adult, youth Second (optional) round: 1 October 2025 at 12:00 for projects beginning January–August 2026
Short-term projects for mobility of learners and staff in adult education (KA122-ADU)
Õuesõppe meetod veekirjaoskuse tõstmiseks
Toimumisaeg ja koht: 8. oktoober, 10:00 -15:00, 2025, Tallinna lähistel
Küsimuste korral võtke ühendust: Piret Liv Stern Dahl, koordinaator, info@blueanew.eu
Kutsume üldharidus- ja kutsekoolide õpetajaid, arendusjuhte jt huvilisi osalema koolitusel, kus on fookuses õuesõpe veekirjaoskuse kontekstis.
Koolituse põhiosas toimub grupitöö väiksemates gruppides. NB! Ettevalmistus koolituseks hõlmab 1h iseseisvat õpet interaktiivsel kursusel sinimajanduse veekirjaoskuse hariduse teemal.
Kava:
10.00 Koolituse sissejuhatus ja päevakava
10.15 X / Jana Liiv, Huvi outdoor MTÜ
12.00 Lõuna
12:30 X jätkab
13:45 Loeng
14:15 Grupitöö
14:45 Kokkuvõtted
15:00 Päeva lõpp
Addressing environmental challenges
Common to the eight EU Countries
Bordering the Baltic Sea
★★★★★★★★
★ Denmark ★
★ Estonia ★
★ Latvia ★
★ Lithuania ★
★ Poland ★
★ Germany ★
★ Sweden ★
★ Finland ★
Connect
Engage
Collaborate
info@BalticLivingLab.org
© 2025. All rights reserved.
Baltic Living Lab is the SHORE Resource Hub for Estonia, funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program in support of the EU Mission Ocean
