In mid-October 2025, the EUROLakes consortium gathered online for its second project management meeting, marking one year since the project’s official launch. Over two days, partners exchanged important updates from the demonstration lakes, reviewed progress across all work packages and took stock of a year defined by learning, stakeholder engagement and groundwork for action.
A highlight of the meeting was the interactive communication workshop, which turned a routine update into a creative lab. Using Mentimeter and group exercises, participants experimented with tailoring EUROLakes’ messages for different audiences – from policy makers to farmers to general public. It was interesting to see how partners perceive the meaning of EUROLakes by defining the project with one word where the top three results came to be holistic, restoration, collaboration. Beyond digital storytelling, the discussion also opened a broader reflection on how to enhance the consortium’s internal communication to improve efficiency and coordination of action.
Across work packages, the first year has seen substantial progress with the monitoring systems installed at Lake Vico, to the upcoming eco-trail and planned stakeholder workshops at Lake Bistret as well as the planning of restoration measures at Lake Dümmer. The meeting also looked ahead with a discussion of the Replication Call launched on 15 October, offering opportunities for new lake initiatives to join EUROLakes’ effort to advance sustainable lake management across Europe.
As the project moves into its second year, the team is focusing on integration: connecting data, practices and people. The next consortium meeting, planned for spring 2026, will be another chance to align with each other’s activities and share what works best when science meets collaboration. As our work is not only about the environment. It’s about people, resilience and the capacity of landscape communities to build their long-term future.
