Baltic Sea Day celebrates our sea and challenges schoolchildren to volunteer for the environment

The Baltic Sea Day is a celebration launched by the John Nurminen Foundation in honour of the Baltic Sea, aiming to inspire us to turn our eyes towards our vulnerable sea, use it to refresh ourselves and take concrete action to protect water systems.

The Baltic Sea Day will be opened at the City Hall Event Square at 9.00 by the mayors of Helsinki and Tallinn. Come and enjoy your morning coffee and hear about current research and greetings from the Baltic countries. The event will be streamed also on the Helsinki Channel.

The Baltic Sea Day will fill Helsinki with sea-themed events. For example, you can celebrate the day by taking a plunge in the refreshing waves, enjoying some wild fish from the Baltic Sea or participating in activities for the whole family. You can find the events on the Itameripaiva.fi website.

City of Helsinki challenges schoolchildren to volunteer for the Baltic Sea

Did you know that every person in Helsinki lives no more than 10 kilometres from the Baltic Sea? Littering is a major problem for marine ecosystems and organisms, as the majority of litter thrown on the ground, such as cigarette butts, eventually ends up in the sea.

This year, Helsinki is taking part in the Save Our Sea campaign, organised by Tallinn, the European Green Capital for 2023. Through the campaign, the City of Helsinki has challenged Helsinki schools and schoolchildren to help clean up the environment.

In addition to schoolchildren, anyone can organise an environmental clean-up event for the benefit of the Baltic Sea. For example, you can organise litter-picking walks and other events with a group of friends or colleagues during the campaign from 31 August to 16 September and also after it. Litter pickers are available from libraries, or you can order equipment a week before via the Puistotalkoot.hel.fi website.

Help the Baltic Sea with our tips

With our own actions and choices, we can all protect the Baltic Sea and, for example, also remember to sort waste correctly at home.

The Baltic Sea Challenge provides practical tips that everyone can use to help the Baltic Sea: cook a Baltic Sea menu using wild fish from the sea, choose an eco-labelled product to keep excess chemicals out of the sea, and do not throw litter in the rainwater drain so it does not end up in the sea. You can find the full list of tips on the Baltic Sea Challenge website.

Together with the City of Turku, the City of Helsinki launched the Baltic Sea Challenge in 2007. The Baltic Sea Challenge is an initiative that encourages companies, municipalities and communities to take concrete water protection measures and do more than the law requires. Currently, more than 300 organisations have joined the challenge.