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Regulació Estany des Peix

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Formentera takes day to honour hometown law enforcement

foto dia policia 018 1Three agents awarded special distinction for thirty years of service

The president's office of the Formentera Council reports that yesterday as part of hometown patron saint celebrations for local law enforcement, special distinctions were granted to three members of the island's police force: Senyora Genoveva Hernández García, Senyor Joan Mayans Cardona and Senyor Miquel Félix Moncada Ortiz.

Known as the “Police Merit Cross” (Creu al Mèrit Policial), the honour is given to agents who have completed thirty years of service, irrespective of rank and whether or not they are currently on active service or special assignment. To be eligible, an officer must not only possess an outstanding professional record clear of ongoing disciplinary action, he or she must have no disciplinary measures pending cancelation on their personal records.

The ceremony, which began around noon in the Council's Sala d'Actes, was attended by CiF chair Jaume Ferrer, the director general of the interior in the Balearics, Pere Perelló; chief of central government affairs for Eivissa and Formentera, Ramón Roca; national police inspector Manuel Hernández; Guardia Civil capitan Jose Antonio Gálvez; CiF deputy chair Bartomeu Escandell; Formentera chief of local police Félix Ramos; honorees; family and friends.

Open enrolment for children's farming course

foto hort nens 2The Formentera Council's agriculture department reports that from today islanders can register their young ones to participate in courses on farming. Signups run Monday October 8 to the start of classes or until no more space is available. The classes themselves begin Saturday October 20 and continue to June, roughly the same timeline as the 2018/2019 academic calendar.

Tuned for youngsters, the course is a vector for environmental learning and individual and social development of participating children, adding a practical dimension to their day-to-day learning. Familiarity with time-honoured, rural traditions promotes respect for the environment and vice versa.

The workshops will take place Saturday mornings, with two distinct groups attending separate two-hour sessions. Four- to six-year-olds will gather from 9.30am to 11.30am and seven- to eleven-year-olds meet from 12 noon to 2.00pm. Children must be born between 2007 and 2014 to participate.

There may be no more than 12 children to a group.

Instruction will play out at the children's vegetable patch located near Sant Francesc's Sa Tanca Vella chapel. Participants should wear comfortable clothing and appropriate footwear and bring a small bottle of water. The agriculture office will keep a waitlist to accommodate children not registered on time.

Department head Bartomeu Escandell attributed the course's return a fourth straight year to islanders' warm reception of past editions. The idea, he said, is to “get children learning about and enjoying the agrarian work with such deep roots on the island”. Pointing to initiatives like those carried out by the farmers' co-op, or the irrigation reservoir, Escandell declared: “On Formentera we're working to restore farming to the importance it once occupied, but without our young ones—the real farmers of tomorrow—we won't get there”.

Formentera pupils get smart about plastics problem

foto-plastic-zero-1The Formentera Council's departments of environment and education have teamed up on Plàstic 0, an initiative launched by Observadores del Mar, a “science platform for the people” overseen by the ecological group Gen-Gob in Eivissa and Formentera.

Problematic plastic
Plastics have become one of the most widespread human-made materials today. It is relatively cheap to produce and extremely resistant, which explains its abundance in oceans and seas and across the coastlines of the world. Plastics make up 97% of the materials found in these places, and that's touching off a gathering environmental crisis in practically all underwater ecosystems.

Plastics break down into smaller and smaller particles known as “microplastics” (a distinction reserved for particles no greater than 5 mm large) and typically enter the lower rungs of the food chain when certain marine organisms mistake them for food.

Plàstic 0
Plàstic 0 is about getting the engagement and commitment of a wide base of people, from early childhood, to deliver real answers and solutions to complex issues like the microplastics littering our shoreline.

Since 2017 Gen-Gob, together with a number of schools, has been responsible for collecting samples at Eivissa beaches. This year Formentera's three primary schools have joined in too, adopting local beaches Cavall d'en Borràs, Migjorn and Es Pujols.

In the words of environment secretary Daisee Aguilera, “it's crucial that we reach our children about the importance of caring for the environment. The data we'll obtain are vital because it will be part of a nationwide effort. Our children, meanwhile, will be acting as scientists in training and learning the significance of taking care of our surrounding ecosystems”.

Cavall d'en Borràs beach, chosen by the pupils of Mestre Lluís Andreu school, will see action this Friday. Operations will be overseen by Agnès Vidal, head of Gen-Gob Eivissa's environmental outreach division, who explained: “The children will be in charge of this beach during the entire term. A new group will come each month and collect samples to be analysed for microplastics”.

The samples will be placed into categories and shipped to Blanes, where final results will be compiled and a plan of action to tackle the problem will be developed.

Fresh round of spraying in Formentera's assault on pine processionary

foto helicopter fumigacioThe environment department of the Formentera Council announces that from Tuesday October 9, weather permitting, a new phase of operations will be introduced by the healthy forests service as part of an eco-friendly effort by the Council and Govern balear to stem the spread of the pine processionary in the Es Cap de Barbaria area of the island.

Treatment
Aerial dusting is performed with a helicopter that is equipped with on-board DGPS technology which gives an operator precise control over which areas are treated and how much pesticide is administered. The insecticide, a “phytosanitary” product, is a natural, kurstaki variety of Bacillus thuringiensis found naturally on the ground and plants, and typically breaks down with exposure to UV rays in a number of days. It also does not affect bees and is fit for use in organic farming.

For optimal results, it is recommended that Bacillus thuringiensis be applied annually for a period of four years.

Scheduling
Dusting generally takes place between October 1 and November 15, although scheduling depends on the pest's stage of development as well as weather conditions. Two applications are staggered several days apart to assure the naturally degrading pesticide eliminates larvae born after the first run.

Area to be treated
Engineers of the effort plan to treat 1,600 hectares of “pure” and “mixed” pines affected by the pine processionary. The area of treatment was chosen based on two factors: captures recorded in traps installed as part of a 2014 effort and nests found over past winters.

Other steps
A whole series of actions in addition to the aerial spraying include traps to capture the insect in its moth form, a push to destroy nests in winter, structures to house predators of the pest, such as bats, and an outreach effort to educate people about the problem.

Saturday in Es Pujols, Formentera's sixth triathlon

foto-triatlo-3Secretary of sport Jordi Vidal unveiled details today of Formentera's sixth triathlon, scheduled to play out in Es Pujols this Saturday, October 6. He was joined by Manuel Hernández, head of event organisers Unisport Consulting, and Rafael Cardona, a spokesperson for sponsoring company Trasmapi.

Organisers are expecting some 250 triathletes at the trial, half of them competing in the “sprint” category and the other half in “olympic”. Sprinters and teams start at 2.15pm with a 750-m swim in Es Pujols bay before moving on to 20km of cycling and 5km on foot. Olympic athletes set out at 4.00pm, swimming 1,500m, then cycling 40km, then running 10km.

Any aspiring contenders who have not yet signed up can do so tomorrow between 9.30am and 12 noon in Es Pujols' plaça d'Europa. Numbers will also be available for pickup there between 9.30am and 1.30pm.

Road closures

Tomorrow from 2.00pm till 6.45pm, the road linking Es Pujols and La Savina will be closed to vehicle traffic from Es Pujols to Illetes. In Es Pujols, all but the town's ring road will remain closed to traffic from 2.00pm to 7.20pm. Motorists must take alternate routes during that time, and secretary Vidal apologised to islanders for the inconvenience.

Vidal welcomed Trasmapi's support in organising the event for the sixth straight year. The competition is part of Discover Formentera in October, an initiative aimed at getting travellers to visit the island outside the high season. Vidal also highlighted the participation and collaboration of Viatges Es Freus, Carbónicas Tur, Frufor, Pro-Auto, Actuacions La Mola, Formotor, Motor Pujols, S'Avaradero, Trasmediterranea and Blue Bar.

The secretary also praised the island's local police, Guardia Civil, civil protection and volunteer forces for making the triathlon possible year after year. 

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