Weaving Community Underwater in the Illa de l’Aire Marine Reserve

The event forms part of the Fòrum Illa de l’Aire project and brought together around 40 people, including divers and on-land volunteers, in a collective action for marine conservation.

Around forty people took part this Saturday in a clean-up day targeting plastics and waste in the Illa de l’Aire Marine Reserve, an action coordinated within the Fòrum Illa de l’Aire project, led by Menorca Preservation with the collaboration of the Marilles Foundation, the support of the Leader Island of Menorca Association, and the technical participation of IME-OBSAM and GOB Menorca.

The day took place simultaneously at sea and on land, with the participation of the diving centres Merak Diving and Binibeca Diving, which coordinated the underwater clean-up in the areas of Alcaufar and Biniancolla, and the Local Agenda 21 team of Sant Lluís, which organised the coastal clean-up on the Alcaufar shoreline.

In total, more than 200 kg of waste were collected, mainly consisting of plastic fragments, fibres, fishing line, metals, and small items from boats and recreational activities. Several large waste items were also found, including two wheels, a two-metre-long piece of boat fibreglass, and a three-metre chain, which were removed with the help of the diving teams.

After the collection, the waste was unloaded and sorted on Alcaufar beach, with the support of the Plastic Free Menorca Alliance, which provided the materials for the on-land clean-up and coordinated the separation and classification of waste together with the volunteers.

The event concluded with a local pica-pica of Custodia Agraria products, offered as the closing of the day, where participants were also able to take home a T-shirt, stickers and postcards from the Fòrum Illa de l’Aire project, created using photographs taken during the underwater photography workshop held in July.

This activity forms part of the project “Weaving Community Underwater”, funded by the Consell Insular de Menorca through the 2025 environmental volunteering grants, and is part of the Fòrum Illa de l’Aire’s line of work aimed at strengthening the connection between the community and the marine reserve through participation, awareness-raising and direct action.

“The day was a very positive collective experience. Beyond the removal of waste, it helped strengthen cooperation between key actors and advance the project’s goals for participation and shared responsibility.”— Aina Blanco-Magadán, coordinator of the Fòrum Illa de l’Aire project.

“At Menorca Preservation, we believe collaboration is key to achieving widespread environmental awareness within the community and ensuring that the actions we support have maximum impact. This clean-up day is proof of that: by combining the efforts of organisations, citizens, companies, and collaborators, we were able to remove a significant amount of waste from the wonderful natural surroundings of the Illa de l’Aire Marine Reserve, and we are extremely grateful for everyone’s participation.”— Rebecca Morris, Director of Menorca Preservation.

The activity was documented by Manel, who accompanied the diving team to produce a photographic and video report of the dives, as well as the final moments of waste sorting and the gathering in Alcaufar. His work will be used to create a reel and a visual summary of the day.

Next steps

Following this action, the Fòrum Illa de l’Aire project team will continue promoting participatory and awareness-raising activities in the municipality of Sant Lluís and in other areas linked to the marine reserve, with the aim of fostering shared responsibility in the conservation of the marine and coastal environment.

The next meeting will take place on 11 November at the Sala Albert Camus in Sant Lluís, where the 2nd Fòrum Illa de l’Aire will be held—an open space for dialogue and reflection bringing together representatives from the fishing sector, local organisations, NGOs, public administration, the restaurant sector, hoteliers, and the wider community to keep collectively shaping the future of the reserve.

In the coming weeks, a reel featuring videos and images from the clean-up day will also be shared on Menorca Preservation’s social media, as a way of giving back to the community and continuing to raise awareness about the importance of caring for our sea.