Tag Archives: Activities

Maria Tudurí Sintes, winner of the Pere Prats Prize for the Environment

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Maria Tudurí Sintes has been designated, unanimously by the jury, the winner of the 2023 Pere Prats Prize for the Environment.

The jury considered that Maria Tudurí has all the qualities that deserve the award of the 2023 Pere Prats Prize for the Environment, based on her career, for being a woman of initiative, and an entrepreneur with drive that has known how to develop in a traditionally male world. Continue reading Maria Tudurí Sintes, winner of the Pere Prats Prize for the Environment →

GOB will take part in the Show by Organisations

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This Saturday in Es Castell, GOB will take part in a show given by Organisations of Menorca. It will be a festive morning in which representations of the Island’s organisations will have workshops and activities related to their purposes. The aim, through fun, is to highlight the importance of the work of the association fabric of the island and to invite everyone to join in.

The exhibition is organised by the Forum of the Third Sector Associations of Menorca (Fòrum ETS Menorca) currently formed by 49 associations from very different fields, which, between them, channel the needs and concerns of Menorcan society. There will be 22 represented in Es Castell, each one having prepared an activity: workshops, activities, games, visits, discovery tours… Continue reading GOB will take part in the Show by Organisations →

Volunteering to clean up the coast at Mongofra

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GOB is organizing a clean-up day on Sunday 23 July at s’Estany de Mongofra, one of the most beautiful places on the island.

Owing to its northern situation and the topography of the coves, a great deal of rubbish coming in from the sea accumulates there. In 2018, a rubbish collection was organised and nearly 500 kilos of waste was collected, but, as we have seen the beaches are once again full of plastics, especially micro plastics.

The event is open to everyone, and we encourage you to invite your families and friends. It is suitable for adults and children.

On this occasion, two meeting points have been organised for sharing cars. At 8.15 in the parking area of the poliesportiu of Maó. For those who do not come from Maó, at 8.45 in the car park of the Tramuntana School (Ses Escoles, ctra Favàritx 24).

In the middle of the morning, there will be a break for a snack of products from the network of Land Stewardship Scheme farms, for all participants.

GOB will take all the necessary materials for the cleaning operation, but if you have your own gloves, then take them. It is important to be well equipped with closed shoes, sun hat, sun cream and bottles of water to cope with the heat. You will have to walk about 20 minute from the houses to the base point where we will organise groups and select the types of waste found.

If you wish to participate, please complete this form . Or telephone GOB (971 350 762), or go to the office any morning from 9.00 to 14.00 H, at Camí des Castell 53, Maó. It is important to state how many people you will be, your telephone number or email, and which meeting point you choose.

The volunteering day coincides with the general elections, but it is expected that the activity will end at 13.30.

We look forward to seeing you!

We open the Centre of Recuperation for Wild Animals

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The Centre for the Recuperation of Wild Animals is now open for visits by the public. It is an opportunity to see close up emblematic animals of Menorca, know their problems and see how this hospital tries to remedy them. The hospital will be open until September on Mondays to Saturdays from 18.00 hours, until sundown. Workshops for all the family will take place every Tuesday that relate to the animals in the Centre.

The visit will be guided and there is a series of explanation panels giving the characteristics of the animals and their problems. The route is divided into the terrarium area for tortoises, ponds for exotic turtles and ponds for the recuperation of toads. There are different areas where you can see falcons, kites and owls…These birds have suffered severe injuries and will not be capable of living in the wild, so they stay permanently in the Centre and help us to carry out the important work of environmental awareness.

Each Tuesday, from 18.30 we are organising different workshops designed for all members of the family, where we will learn through play the different characteristics of the animals.

The Animal Hospital is located in the Lithica Quarries. For visiting us you first buy an entrance ticket for Lithica (4 euros for residents, 7 euros for non-residents, young people under 13 years go free). Once inside go towards the Centre where we will ask you for a supplement of 2 euros (under 13 it is free). It is advisable to buy tickets for Lithica on the website https://lithica.es/en/visit/ . Though you can also buy them there. Entrance to the Pedreres de s’Hostal is on the Camí Vell de Ciutadella, km1.

This Sunday, Open Doors at the Centre for Recuperation of Wild Animals

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This Sunday, 4 June, from 10 am to 2 pm, the day of “Open Doors” is an opportunity to visit the Centre for the Recuperation of Wild Animals in Menorca. You will see the animals living there and learn about the work done to care for wild animals of Menorca. This day is made possible with the collaboration of Lithica and the Town Hall of Ciutadella, to celebrate World Environment Day as well as the Land Stewardship Week. Continue reading This Sunday, Open Doors at the Centre for Recuperation of Wild Animals →

The Menorca We Love exhibition at L’Espai Xec Coll, Ciutadella

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Last Tuesday, 11 April, was the inauguration of the photography competition La Menorca que Estimam (The Menorca We Love) at the Espai Xec Coll, Ciutadella. It has gone there having been shown in Maó and Es Castell. The competition was organised by GOB Menorca on celebrating its first 45 years. The exhibition will be open until 3 May.

The competition has been a great success due to its large participation and the high quality of the submitted photographs. There were 319 entries from 106 different authors, which reflected the diversity and beauty that is still conserved for the Menorca we want inspiring us to keep working to defend its environmental values and maintain an equilibrium between human activities and environmental conservation. You will see photographs of our wild animals and flowers, the landscapes, the marine environment…

The jury formed by Antoni Cladera, renowned nature photographer committed to the environment; Fina Salord, philologist and cultural historian; and Magda Seoane, naturalist, poet and member of the board of GOB who selected thirty of the best photographs in their judgement, and now exhibited here. The first prize of the competition went to Ricard Coll for his work El mimetismo del autillo ; the second prize to José Luis Gregorio for his photograph Pau, and the third prize to Carlos Silvestre for Contemplando el cielo.

 The exhibition in Espai Xec Coll is open until 3 May on Mondays to Fridays from 10.00 to 13.30 and 17.00 to 20.00 and on Saturdays from 10.00 to 13.30 h.

We are grateful to the Ciutadella Town Hall for the use of this space. Once again, we give special thanks to all those who have made this event possible, starting with the photographers, the members of the jury and the board members who organised this excellent show.

Summer camps for 2023 now available

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Summer is already here, the days are getting longer…and the GOB summer camps on the environment are coming. If you want to know more about life in Menorca and the nature that surrounds it…these summer camps are for you.

The Environmental Education area of GOB is continuing to prepare activities with the experience of previous years. For this year, we have three distinct events, depending on the age of the participants that will take place between the last week of June and the first half of July.

The team of monitors is prepared and keen to revive experiences but are excited, also, to carry out new activities and itineraries that we are designing for this summer.

Going out to live in nature is exciting and is something we never forget. The GOB Education project would like to share this experience with many children and young people of Menorca, conscious of the knowledge and awareness they will gain.

The activities that will be carried out are as follows:

  • Children’s camp: from 26 to 30 June. For children born between 2014 and 2016
  • Youth camp: from 3 to 8 July. For those born between 2010 and 2013
  • Itinerant camp: from 11 to 17 July. Young people born between 2008 and 2010

Registration will open for members on 27 March and for non-members from 11 April. Places are limited and once they are all taken, the registration period will end. For more information you can send an email to administracio@gobmenorca.com and you will be told everything you need to do.

This activity is organised by the Environmental Education area of GOB, and is helped by the Representative of the Reserve of the Biosphere of the Island Governing Council, the General Directorate of Waste and Environmental Education of the Balearic Government and the Town Councils of Maó and Es Mercadal.

Water in Menorca, a debate on Thursday at the Ateneu

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This evening, Thursday 2 February at 19.30 at the Maó Ateneu, the first of the round table debates of the cycle 700 Km2 will take place. They aim to explore the limits of Menorca for both the present and the future, at a time when serious problems of natural resources and overcrowding are evident. Experts will be participating giving their points of view and giving the opportunity to debate with those attending. These debates will take place every Thursday during the month of February at the Ateneu. The four debates will concentrate on water, transport, nautical saturation and the reception capacity of tourists to the island.

At this first round table, José Antonio Fayas will participate. He is an engineer who for many years has been following the problems of our aquifers and proposing solutions. Also, Agusti Rodriquez, hydrogeologist, who has taken part in different studies on Menorca’s aquifers and in the planning of the management of water by the island’s different town halls. Finally, Joana Maria Garau, Director General of Water Resources of the Balearic Government who is responsible for the management of bodies of fresh water, both surface and underground.

Fresh water is a grave problem for us and that has been talked about for a long time, without it ever being resolved. Quite the contrary, it seems to be getting worse. To be able to have first-hand information and to know what measures are being applied is important to be able to forecast how this resource can affect the wellbeing of the island’s population, its economy and the environment.

The cycle has been organised by GOB and the Maó Ateneu with the support of Menorca Preservation.

Es Castell is showing the exhibition of photographs called La Menorca que Estimam

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The exhibition of the “The Menorca we Love” photographic competition can now be seen at the Public Library Angel Ruiz i Pablo in Es Castell. This competition was organised to commemorate the 45 years since GOB Menorca started. You can visit it on Mondays to Fridays from 9 – 14 h and 16 – 20 hours, until 28 February.

The competition was looking for photographs that impart the natural values that Menorca still conserves. 106 people participated. The exhibition is showing the 30 photographs selected by the judges. They capture emblematic species, landscapes and all the diversity of the island’s environment and show why it matters to keep working to preserve it.

GOB thanks the entities and everyone who made this competition possible. We would especially like to thank Joan Carrés, who coordinated and commissioned the competition and the exhibition with the help of Bep Taltavull, Jaume Franch and the Foto Club F/Llum in Ferreries, the Foto Club RevelArt of Es Castell and Damià Rotger. We would also like to give special thanks to the members of the committee of judges, Antoni Cladera, Fina Salord and Magda Seoane. Also, our thanks to the Library and the Town Hall of Es Castell for the use of the exhibition space.

Now we have grown to 1500

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In the year that GOB Menorca celebrates 45 years of its existence, we now have 1500 members, having grown at a rate of practically one every four days. On Tuesday, GOB Menorca held an annual meeting where the work that has been done during the year and the forecast of the activities for the next year with the corresponding budget were approved. In addition, the Island Board of Directors and the interisland presidency were renewed.

During 2022, GOB has continued working at a good pace offering sustainability alternatives for Menorca, contributing to the wellbeing of its people. It has been a year of debate and mobilizations about tourist overcrowding, which will continue. The law of the Reserve of the Biosphere is pending in Parliament. Converting out of date hotels for current use worries us and, even more so, when we see that regulations and interests to maintain such a model, as in the case of the large hotels at Son Bou, to make the alterations they want, by our criteria, do not comply with the law. We have also shown how we are going ahead with the protection of the marine environment, despite lots of resistance and some backward steps.

The growth in the number of affiliated people has been accompanied by increased activity. 3700 people have participated in 92 public activities. 1857 students have taken part in the 101 environmental education activities. In six leisure activities such as camps and weekend outings, 103 young people have been involved. 155 people have an active agreement for volunteering. The Land Stewardship Scheme has been expanded with 37 estates signed up to the  agreement with GOB. The Centre for Recuperation for Wild Animals has taken in 1300 animals. The Es Viver garden centre has distributed 10,000 plants suitable for sustainable gardening, 20,000 ecological seedlings for the garden and more than 500 fruit trees of local varieties.

The assembly approved a budget for 2023 of 674,000 euros. Membership fees and donations represent 13% of the revenue, which guarantee total independence and allows us to finance so much work dedicated to environmental policies. The rest of the projects (environmental education, the Wildlife Recuperation Centre, etc.) require other sources of finance: 66% comes from the private sector (services, sales and sponsorships) and only 21% from various public ministries (town halls, the Island Government, The Balearic Islands Government, European Union…) that help with different GOB initiatives that are a clear benefit to the Island.

Bosco Febrer was re-elected as the president of the Interisland GOB, pending the results of the assemblies of Mallorca and Ibiza. The Island Board of Directors for Menorca was approved with Carlos Coll as President and another 25 people:  Bosco Febrer; Agustí Gómez; Xavi Camps; Cecilia Ligero; Jaume Obrador; Josep Mercadal; Santiago Udaeta; Tomeu Sánchez; Geroni Marqués; Aina Blanco; Ismael Peregrino; Marta Carreras; Vicky Bargiela; Granada del Río; Eduard Furró; Pepa Orfila; Jaume Franch; Magda Seoane; Xema Moya; Joan Carrés; Margalida Masferrer; Francesc Domènech; Isabel Pérez-Chuecos; Gemma Capdevilla; Giulia Massaro. Apart from being numerous, it is a board made up of people from diverse areas of experience and a large spectrum of ages.

2023 will be very challenging. In addition to the general uncertain situation, there is an opportunity to define a regulatory framework in response to the problems such as overcrowding and for the protection of water resources. The approval of the Island Land Planning and for the Reserve of the Biosphere Law are key regarding this and GOB will continue working to incorporate efficient measures for the sustainability of the Island.  We will continue working for the future of the Agriculture sector as a tool for improving the environment, the climate crisis, the protection of the marine environment, waste reduction, responsible consumption, the preservation of the landscape, sustainable transport… In all these fields and others, GOB hopes its work continues to add positively to the environmental sustainability of Menorca.

Happy Holidays!