Baltic Seashore Stories
Welcome to Baltic Seashore Stories, where the Baltic Sea coastline comes to life through mobile phone-shot films gathered by the public. Videos are shot between May and September 2023.
Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania share a common Baltic Sea. While between these countries shorelines and marine conditions vary, environmental challenges caused by human activity are common to all, for example, littering and algal blooms. These Baltic States and their coastal cities are taking this situation seriously, conducting research, generating policies, and implementing actions to improve the health of the sea.
So, dive in, explore our common sea, and share the Baltic Seashore Story to your friends. Together, we will inspire, educate, and transform the way the world views our Baltic Sea, and ultimately we’ll save our beloved sea!
Videos filmed by local people
Different types of shore areas gathered
Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Videos gathered May 2023 – September 2023
Community film produced in may–september 2023 The Baltic Seashore Stories Film
Direct actions taken by individuals, particularly young people, are needed. The awareness of the people of the use and recycling of materials is a key to reducing marine litter. Local events, such as beach-cleaning events, raise awareness of these issues and the importance of our daily practices and choices.
One concrete action is the Baltic Seashore Stories film created in this project by over a hundred videos sent by local people all over the Baltic Sea. The film shows how our sea varies from the Northern Bothnian bay to Curonian spit on the South. The film reveals how people see the sea and how they feel about it.
We would like to thank everyone involved in the making of the Baltic Seashore Stories community movie. Over 130 video clips were sent to the project in total. We thank you Ēriks Ozoliņš, Egle Wilkie, Aarni Holappa, Ieva Bogužaitė, Aistė Jokubauskienė, Christian Laasi, Mindaugas Žvirgždys, Niklāvs Kulbergs, Saara Järviö, Zane Dekere, Arturs Grundbergs, Dace Preimane, Jana, Pauls Rauga, Viktoras Gineitis, Gintaras Karaliunad, Valentina Trostnikova, Kristofer Pikka, Evelina Ganina, Marta Tüür, Natali Treufeldt, Gert-Gerret Lindre, Ranno Rannik, Anni Mätinki, Kari Hirvo, Nina Karell, Madara Lisovska, Rasa Gertruda & all of the 32 participants who wanted to stay anonymous.
Winner of the Baltic Seashore Stories competition
The video competition ended on 31.9.2023. The panel of three media professionals and three experts from the Finnish Environment Institute who made the selection and draw the winner 19th of October 2023 are happy to announce that:
The GoPro camera was won by Viktoras Gineitis (Lithuania). Congratulations!
In addition, Natalie Treufeldt (Estonia), Anni Mätinki (Finland) and Madara Lisovska (Latvia) were awarded with a special mention and a prize.
Experience the baltic sea Map with local videos
Discover the Baltic Sea with our interactive map application!
Use the map to embark on a journey! Here, you can navigate the coastline and unlock a world of captivating videos shot by people exploring the coastline. We have handpicked 41 videos from over 130 videos sent to the project and hid them on the map.
Click, explore, and let the Baltic Seashore Stories map transport you to a world of discovery!
Information gathered from:
MarineFinland.fi, Ympäristö.fi, Järvi-Meri Wiki, Latvian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Lithuanian Ministry of Environment, Maritimecluster.lt, Estonian Environment Agency, Estonian Ministry of Climate, Finnish Environment Institute, Finnish Ministry of Environment
Are you ready to make the change? Take action for the Baltic Sea
It takes us all to protect the Baltic Sea for generations to come. Shared community makes us all more environmentally aware, helping us to make changes in everyday behavior and to create good will for marine research and policy.
Why don’t you take a moment to think about the Baltic Sea, its varied shorelines, its beauty and diversity, the stories associated with it and how all this may affect your life. Might you be ready to make your contribution?
Estonia
Lithuania
Finland
Geography and location Baltic Sea in a nutshell
The Baltic Sea is a small, almost completely enclosed sea on the north-eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The Baltic Sea is very shallow for a sea. It is the second largest inland sea in the world.
Over 85 million people live in the Baltic Sea catchment area. The Baltic Sea has some of the busiest shipping routes in the world. Around 2,000 ships are normally at sea at any time in the Baltic, including tankers and passenger ferries.
Due to its northern location, at least part of the Baltic Sea freezes in winter, affecting shipping and the Baltic Sea ecosystem.
Area: 392 000 square kilometres
Volume of water: 21 000 cubic kilometres
Watch all of the videos from the Baltic Sea on Youtube!
