A heartfelt thank you to Jelgava Technology Secondary School for organizing the excellent event “One Step Closer” for students of grades 10–12 from the Zemgale region, held on 24 September 2025. The event brought together more than 150 students from five regional schools.

Project manager Gunta Čekstere-Muižniece giving a presentation. Photo: Edgars Krinbergs

The aim of the event was to support students in choosing topics for their research or creative projects and to inspire collaboration with specialists from different fields.

The field of biology and the LIFE FOR SPECIES project were represented by project manager Gunta Čekstere-Muižniece (University of Latvia, Institute of Biology), who introduced participants to the latest research directions in biology, the upcoming new edition of the Latvian Red Data Book, and later provided individual consultations to students at the project stand.

We are delighted that so many young people showed interest in research across various subfields of biology, as well as in rare, endangered, and protected species!