Environmental education project encourages young people to learn about the Baltic Sea and its protection

The Baltic Sea is one of the world’s most sensitive yet most polluted sea areas. Its unique brackish water ecosystem has adapted to very specific conditions, making it exceptionally vulnerable to human activity and environmental change. As the world’s largest brackish water basin, the Baltic Sea is formed where the salt water of the ocean meets the fresh water of rivers. This creates a distinctive array of species that is simultaneously sensitive to change.

A healthy Baltic Sea is vital to the region’s inhabitants. It provides livelihoods through fishing and tourism, is a central part of coastal communities’ culture, and enables diverse recreational use.

Nutrients entering the sea via runoff water — particularly from agriculture and forestry — cause algal blooms and expand oxygen-depleted areas on the seabed. A healthy ecosystem can bind nutrients more efficiently and better withstand the pressures caused by climate change. Heavy maritime traffic and oil and chemical shipments also threaten the Baltic Sea’s vitality.

Minun mereni’s project Innostu Itämerestä activates primary and secondary school students to understand the importance of environmental protection at a time when our environment is threatened by many human-caused factors. At the same time, students learn about the importance of protecting the shallow inland sea, and how individuals can participate in protecting the sea and waterways.

At the heart of the project is the idea that students use their own voice to interpret their relationship with the Baltic Sea. What does the Baltic Sea mean to them, and why is it worth protecting?

The website innostuitameresta.fi features Finnish- and Swedish-language learning materials for school students, produced by experienced teachers and environmental educators in collaboration with the Association of Biology and Geography Teachers BMOL, School Cinema Association (Koulukino), The Finnish Nature Association (Luontoliitto), and Minun mereni. The project includes Ari Heinilä‘s film Minun mereni (My Sea), which winds through the labyrinthine archipelago, dives into the depths, and explores various sea-related hobbies and Baltic Sea species.

The Minun Mereni Challenge

The Minun mereni poster challenge, which was part of the project and ended on 31 March 2026, proved hugely popular: over 1,700 posters were submitted from more than 180 schools across Finland. The aim of the challenge was to get students in grades 1–9 to reflect on their own relationship with the Baltic Sea and express their thoughts in poster form, while deepening children’s and young people’s understanding of the Baltic Sea, its species, its condition, and the need for its protection, and to hear their views on our nearby sea. Posters could be made individually, in groups, or as a whole class. The main prize was €1,000 in class trip funding.

In the posters made by school students, the Baltic Sea was portrayed in a positive light, with works featuring Baltic Sea species, adventures, and hobbies. At the same time, children addressed concerns related to the Baltic Sea, such as plastic waste threatening the fragile water area.

The winner was a work by Jasper, a fourth-grader from Huittinen, titled Meduusojen juhlat. Second place went to Anni, an eighth-grader from Lahti, with Merenpohja, and third place to a collaborative work by seventh- and eighth-graders from Loviisa, Mulla on, sulla on Itämeri. The 15 works selected by the jury can be viewed on the project website.

“We thank Saastamoinen Foundation for their attitude and significant support for Minun mereni’s school campaign. Without you, we would not have been able to reach so many schools with our important message,” says Uffe Tollet of Minun mereni.