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Improving trash-tossing habits

Foto xerrada residus escoletaStaff at the Formentera Council's two escoletes, or “nurseries,” attended a course today aimed at promoting good waste disposal habits. An environmental educator spoke to the workers about how to group rubbish before tossing it out and where it goes once it's binned. Environment secretary Daisee Aguilera gave an indication of the answer: the Deixalleria, or “rubbish tip,” as it's called in English. Said Aguilera of the course, “attendees got a sense of just how much it really costs to dispose of garbage”. The workshop was held at 11.30am this morning in the conference hall of the Office of Culture.

According to Aguilera, when a visit to assess bin habits confirmed that recycling was already routine in the kitchen, the teachers' lounge and common areas of the nurseries, the educator proposed implementing separate recycling bags in classrooms this year. The workshop could potentially be extended to other schools on the island.

Student outings will also be organised to the Deixalleria and local transfer plant. It's all part of an effort, says Aguilera, to give youngsters “an up-close look at what happens when they toss something in the bin”. Adults can get in on the visits too—just another way to make sure people know what becomes of their waste. Anyone interested in participating can send an e-mail to infoambiental@conselldeformentera.cat.

With help from administration, 77 islanders specialise in scuba-diving

Foto cursos busseig vellmari reduxAccording to a report issued today by the Formentera Council's Office of Sport, 77 Formentera residents got financial help paying for recreational scuba-diving classes in 2017 with funding made possible by a deal between the Council and Vellmarí dive centre.

Thirty-seven individuals signed up to take an introductory course at a 50% discount, 15 received 60% off a “junior” course and another 25 students got instruction for ongoing divers at a 38% discount. All told, the funding totalled €7,000.

The administration hopes to see more islanders taking an interest in the island's undersea life and scuba-diving. To CiF sport secretary Jordi Vidal, conditions on Formentera “make it a no-brainer as a destination for the activity”. The Council's partnership with Vellmarí spans more than a decade. During that time, upwards of 700 residents have received specialised diving instruction, which Vidal describes as “a way to educate people about the vast wealth of our undersea habitats and posidonia meadows”.

Formentera completes rollout of online services

Foto oacCiF Office of New Technologies chief Rafael González has announced the successful completion of the administration's bid to take its directory of services paperless. The project dates back to the final quarter of 2016, when the related applications were first acquired and installed by the Council.

The process of going digital got under way January 1 and concluded August 31. According to the councillor, the overhaul will mean that “the same formalities and requests are going to become significantly easier”. “Two years ago, we offered 15 of our services online,” explained González, “the rest required an in-person visit”. Now, he says, absolutely all of them—some one hundred—can be done online.

To date this year 30,727 administrative formalities have been carried out on the web. Some of the most popular are proof of residency/travel certificates (16,608), renewals of a la Savina parking pass (3,026), invoice submissions (2,428), fishing permits (245), summer school registrations (178), early enrolment for students of the music school (118), small construction permit requests (108).

González called the effort to digitalise formerly paper-based procedures “an incredible opportunity for us to improve our resident services and response time”.

Línea Verde
The councillor reminded residents of the app, Línea Verde, that lets people easily notify the Council of black spots around the island. 

Council's latest leg-up includes €74k in funding for local sports clubs and €9k for specialised athletes

Foto vela 2017Seventy-four thousand euros, unlocked by the department of fitness of the Formentera Council, will be handed out to eight local associations that applied for assistance promoting fitness, including Formentera's dojo and football team as well as associations built around tennis, racing, basketball and swimming, plus the Grup Esportiu Espalmador.

That was the message trumpeted by CiF fitness secretary Jordi Vidal, who highlighted the role such funding plays in driving sports clubs on the island. This year the administration will introduce early payouts of 50%. According to the secretary, the strategy is intended to reduce the financial burden on clubs.

Individual assistance
Separately the administration is also disclosed it will offer nine thousand euros to three local sportspeople. All under 18, the recipients include specialists in athletics, tennis and sailing.

Vidal framed the assistance as “a boost we hope will help our athletes get the guidance they'll need in their futures in pro sport”. The individual assistance is the result of a partnership between the Council and Fundació per a l'Esport Balear.

A second round of applications for trainers and other sportspeople. Interested parties should contact the CiF fitness office (àrea d'Esports) and visit the website http://esportesmes.org for eligibility requirements. A joint subcommittee of Council and Fundació representatives reviews applications based on need and performance.

Formentera ramps up fishing patrols

rsz raorIn an statement issued this morning, the CiF president's office announced the start last weekend of intensified patrols to tackle fishing of the pearly razorfish, or raor in Catalan. Surveillance by boat, land and, for the first time this year, drones is being deployed in the crackdown.

From Friday to Sunday, surveillance crews of the Formentera Council teamed up with agents of Els Freus Marine Reserve to educate fishermen about the rules that govern raor fishing and the areas in which its capture is permitted. According to Bartomeu Escandell, secretary of the president's office and the rural affairs department, the administration's inspector has already issued two pleasure boats citations for fishing in areas where it is prohibited.

Guidelines
Escandell pointed out that catches of raor are capped at fifty, per person per day, and the daily per-boat limit is three hundred. Fishing prohibitions enter into force from April 1 to August 31 as a way to ensure female fish have sufficient time to spawn.

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