Community cooperation for rivers and coasts (CoCoRiCo)

Project objective: to build a citizen-science community by fostering collaboration among NGO activists (BEF-Latvia), youth (Pärnu-Salacgriva; Valga-Valka schools), educators (TEEC, teachers), and researchers (LHEI) in Latvia and Estonia, focusing on water protection, plastic pollution reduction, and biodiversity conservation through citizen science and educational activities. Diverse joint activities will take place in cross-border river basins (Salaca, Pärnu, Pedele) and along the Gulf of Riga coast. The focus is on water protection, plastic pollution reduction, and biodiversity conservation through citizen science and educational activities.

Project background: project addresses the common environmental challenge of plastic litter pollution and its impact on biodiversity in the interconnected water ecosystems (rivers and coastal areas) of Latvia and Estonia. Key cross-border river ecosystems between the two countries, such as the Gauja-Koiva and Pedele river basins, are increasingly threatened by macro- and microplastic pollution. Coastal river basins, including Salaca and Pärnu, as well as adjacent coastal areas of the shared Gulf of Riga, are also impacted by marine litter, including plastic. This pollution not only endangers aquatic life but also affects communities that rely on these ecosystems for resources and recreation.

Environmental organizations agree that addressing environmental challenges requires not only changes in national policies but also shifts in societal and individual behavior. Schools, alongside parents, play a crucial role in shaping individuals’ values and behaviors. Recognizing the need for cross-border collaboration, the partners have identified an urgent opportunity to strengthen their capacities for engaging community representatives, particularly schools. The multi-actor collaboration—NGOs, researchers, educators, and the youth – through citizen science, is not yet well-established, especially in the transboundary Estonian-Latvian context.

Planned activities:

Activity 1.1 Customizing Educational Materials: exchange of practices, combining for collaboration, adapting and translating materials
Activity 1.2 Joint cross-border exploratory event with water/plastic sampling
Activity 2.1 Joint workshops for LV and EE teachers to prepare them for guiding citizen science activities
Activity 2.2 Joint citizen science activities (water samplings)
Activity 2.3 Joint summer school for Estonian and Latvian students
Activity 2.4 Researchers’ night event with joint activities
Participations in joint actions across borders after project completion.