- This event has passed.
North & Baltic Regional Congress 2024
9 April to 13 April EEST
topic
Nature is boundless and rarely has rigid lines of division. Instead, it unfolds in a slow gradient, transitioning from one ecosystem to another, thus creating nice harmony without hard edges and boundaries. This year’s NBRC topic is Ecotones – the meeting and transition points between ecosystems or cultures. The word itself draws its roots from the ancient Greek words οἶκος for house and τόνος for tension. These ecological crossroads are not only hotspots for biodiversity, but also epicentres of challenges. From wetlands and estuaries to the dynamic riverbanks and lake shores, all these ecotones share a common trait – they are both hosts to a multitude of species and show sensitivity to the pressures of climate change, urbanization, and expanding agriculture. How can we find ways to preserve and respect these meeting areas? Can we find ways to incorporate this concept not only in ecology, but also spatial planning, urban and cultural geography?
location
The congress will take place in the so-called “Lithuanian Switzerland”, Molėtai municipality, Čiulėnai village, which is located around an hour’s drive from our capital Vilnius. The area is famous for its abundance of lakes, dense forests and authentic settlements. Ever dreamed of living next to a lake? Our accommodation is situated right on the Lake Virintai shore! The Labanoras regional park and the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory, which we hope to visit, are right around the corner too!
PROGRAM
workshops
Workshop leader: dr. Laurynas Jukna
Lake depth measurements are essential for understanding the ecology of lakes: temperature gradients, light availability and oxygen levels all depend on the lake depth and influence the distribution of various species by creating distinct habitats within lake. This workshop will provide insight about the bathymetry of the Lake Virintai next to our accomodation. We will compare different measuring techniques and already existings dataset, see how sonar data looks like and learn how to use it.
Workshop leaders: dr. Arūnas Samas & dr. Irena Nedveckytė
In this workshop you’ll have a wonderful opportunity to explore the surrounding nature, get dirty and see species diversity in micro-ecotones yourself! “Ecotone Effects on Animal Diversity” will be led by one and only Dr. Arūnas Samas and Dr. Irena Nedveckytė. They are ecologists and lecturers who have been leading ecology student field practices for many years! Combining the knowledge of trap building methods and the importance of calculations – you will get to know the peculiarities of animal life in ecotones!
Workshop Leader Vaiva Venckauskaitė; Co-Leader Martyna Kazlauskaitė
This workshop is based on a real experimental project segment at ID Vilnius (leading GIS and spatial planning company in Vilnius) . City planners did not have any tools to check and monitor the city’s development after planning and construction project execution, as well as the state of already realised sites. The workshop mainly focuses on showing how easily you can utilise code from GitHub for your own geospatial needs and expand your capabilities when GIS desktop applications are just not enough. But do not threat, you will have to work with QGIS as well and predict functional zones in city blocks.
Workshop leader: Miroslav Hakl (EGEA Praha)
In this workshop, led by Miroslav Hakl from EGEA Praha, you will focus on working with data and learn where to get weather data and how to interpret it correctly. You will also try to collect weather data on the spot and make your own forecast! With focus on your country and the specifics of local weather conditions you can make a forecast for the following days for your hometown and follow up after you return from the congress to see if your forecast was correct.
Workshop Leader: Lukas Bevanda (EGEA Vienna)
Delve deeper into the meaning and importance of natural resources and environments for us humans with Lukas from EGEA Vienna, who will provide us with an insightful workshop about Therapeutic Forests. In the workshop, you will learn about topics such as stress, the nervous system, physical processes, sensory overload, and how places such as Heringsdorf or the Shinrin Yoku concept have a healing effect and help us cope with all of this.
Looking great