News

Land campaign to curb pine processionary removes nearly 5.5K nests in 2 weeks

Monday, 07 February 2022 14:53

foto 2022 processionaria The Formentera Office of Environment (Conselleria de Medi Ambient, CMAF) is pleased to report that 24 January marked the start of a push to remove pine processionary nests. Two employees have been recruited to oversee the drive, which will involve 15 days of operations.

In the first two weeks 5,454 nests were removed by hand. Operations have centred on public, urban areas and, in particular, near the cemetery and hospital in Sant Francesc.

Initially €7,000 was set aside for the initiative, but the pest is now present across a considerably larger expanse of Formentera, making budget and timeline increases likely. Of 4,000 cartridges supplied by the Balearic Ministry of Environment and Territory, over 6,500 are expected to arrive in the next few days and will be used to destroy nests located on higher up branches. The Consell de Formentera relies on the invaluable help of local hunting clubs to destroy the nests.

Antoni Tur, Councillor of the Environment, welcomed the collaboration of "land owners near forests and other residents to locate and combat this pest". Tur pointed out that the CMAF provides information and material to individuals to remove processionary nests. Last year the Consell acquired two telescopic scissors to reach nests as high as six metres from the ground, and this year has acquired two more. Islanders can request to borrow the scissors at no cost by contacting the CMAF.

'No time to let our guard down'

Councillor Tur encouraged the Balearic Healthy Forests Service "not to lower their guard" in the effort to curb the pest and to continue with helicopter dustings of the kurstaki variety of Bacillus thuringiensis. "We are far from eliminating this pest, and we think it should be a priority for the Balearic government", said Tur.

For more information contact the CMAF at Carrer Mallorca, 15 (first floor), Sant Ferran de ses Roques, by calling 971 32 12 10 (ext. 1), or by email at mediambient@conselldeformentera.cat. The Healthy Forests Service web site is available here, by telephone at 971 17 66 66 or by e-mail at sanitatforestal@ caib.es.

7 February 2022
Communications Office
Consell Insular de Formentera

Talks for Families series tackles social media and pornography

Monday, 07 February 2022 09:08

'The Internet and Pornography: What Can Families Do?' is the title of the lecture that Lluís Ballester, who holds a PhD in Sociology and Philosophy, will give at 5.00pm this Thursday as part of the Talks for Families series. Organised by the Formentera Office of Social Welfare, the talks are held in the plenary hall (sala de plens) of the Consell de Formentera. Childcare is offered as well. Interested parties should reserve in advance by sending an email to educaciosocial@conselldeformentera.cat or calling 971 321 271.

7 February 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

Registration open for local chauffeur's licences

Thursday, 03 February 2022 13:38

The Formentera Office of Mobility is pleased to report that individuals who wish to apply the local taxi driver's license have until 9 February to register for the exam. The exam will be held 25 February 2022. Registration can be completed at the Citizen Information Office (OAC) or online on the OVAC.

Terms and the syllabus can be found here.

Future taxi drivers are required to have knowledge of the two official languages, Catalan and Spanish, as well as two foreign languages, English and German, Italian or French. Applicants must answer questions about the municipality of Formentera and rules on urban and intercity passenger transport service in light vehicles.

This is the second call for applications this year; all fifteen candidates passed the first exam, held 21 January. Rafael González, Councillor of Mobility, shared his hope that the two calls for applications would be met by "enough passing drivers to cover the new seasonal positions available this year".

Under the Action Plan for Public Passenger Transport by Vehicle, in summer 2022 and 2023, taxi service will be provided by 25 drivers with ordinary licenses and 24 with seasonal licenses. "The number of cabs has grown 29% since summer 2021, when there were 25 ordinary and 13 seasonal licences", pointed out Councillor González. He added, "in this way, we're improving the public service by tailoring supply to fit current needs".

3 February 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

"Ajuntament Vell" welcomes group exhibition "Els ODS dels Baleàrics"

Friday, 04 February 2022 10:35

The Formentera Office of Culture is pleased to announce that 7 to 19 February, the Sala d'Exposicions "Ajuntament Vell" will host the group exhibition Els ODS dels Baleàrics.

This year work will be shown by 18 Mediterranean artists – 17 drew inspiration from the sustainable development goals (ODS derives from objectius de desenvolupament sostenible), and one, Francesc Ramis, presents a synthesis of all the goals. The goals are part of the 2030 agenda for a better world.

This exhibition is the third in the series Els Baleàrics, which is curated by Antonio Torres Martorell and sponsored by the regional ministry of European funding, Universities and Culture and Balearia Foundation. The idea is to disseminate the work of Formentera artists; Enric Riera participated in 2018, Mar Ample joins the initiative in 2022. Featured artists also include Ibizan artists Bonet Vallribera, Julia Fragua and Miguel Ángel García López.

Els ODS dels Baleàrics has already been displayed elsewhere in the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community. After Formentera, the show will conclude with a stop in Barcelona.

Doors open at 6.00pm on Monday 7 February. The "Ajuntament Vell" gallery is open 11.00am to 2.00pm and 6.00pm to 8.00pm, Monday to Saturday. The gallery closes on Sundays, Monday mornings and holidays.

4 February 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The second instalment of L'Illa a Escena 2022: "Aión"

Thursday, 03 February 2022 09:22

The Formentera Office of Culture is pleased to report that Formentera will soon welcome the second act of L'Illa a Escena 2022: Aión. This dance piece from Fils Roulants will be performed at 8.30pm next Saturday 12 January in the Sala de Cultura (Cinema).

The play was created and directed by Valeria Del Vecchio, who shares the stage with Pablo Arias. The performance is anchored by movement and is backed by an original soundtrack by Diego León Arias.

Aión represents a place outside of time where there is a multitude of possibilities, experimentations, games, fluctuations. It is a kind of open window on the origin of all things.

Citing a fragment from author Lorenzo Alessandro Pepe served as a source of inspiration in the play's creation, Del Vecchio explains the setting: "Before kronos (time) dragged the universe into a free fall towards the end of all things, when the gods, still children, played in Aión their cruel games - games of life and death, love and hate, attraction and repulsion, innocent and merciless games that experience all the possibilities of the real, interpolating every possible permutation in infinite combinations".

In 2017 Del Vecchio and Arias began collaborating on local improvisational performances of live music and movement, as well as assorted intensive courses. From these experiences grew the idea of creating a new project together: a piece that can be tailored to distinct places and spaces. In 2021 a version of Aión premiered at Eivissa's Territori Festival.

Del Vecchio has lived on Formentera since 2009. Her schooling in ballet and dedication as a contemporary dance teacher began in Del Vecchio's native Italy. There she worked in the dance and theatre company Moto Mimètic. She has since created several dance works and performed movement pieces like Perdius i Paries. The interest and passion for the body and movement have led Del Vecchio to develop her own method based on a technique known as Body Weather. She currently teaches regular classes and intensive courses.

Pablo Arias' assorted projects in dance, corporal expression, performance and musical composition date back to 2016. He is a singer, musician, composer in the collective Negritos, of which he is also the co-founder. He has also performed with the collective on various stages in Europe and Latin America, and collaborated with musicians as varied as Manu Chao and Alice Cooper. He currently collaborates with the Nius project for the aesthetic stimulation of children from zero to eighteen months old.

Admission and tickets

Tickets are available from tomorrow, Friday 4 February, at www.entradesformentera.cat for €7. A 50% discount applies for unemployed people, under-employed freelancers, retirees, under-25s, and single-parent and large families.

Health and safety protocol and current regulations will be enforced at all times.