Formentera is putting environmental conservation at the centre of its September programme with four free public activities combining hands-on conservation, marine science, art and biodiversity.

Ibiza & Formentera Preservation is joining the 10th edition of the Qué Celeste festival with a programme designed to bring environmental protection closer to residents and visitors through participation, education and culture. The four initiatives will take place across September and include a beach cleanup at S’Estufador, a coastal health field outing, a collective exhibition using recovered materials and the creation of a new butterfly garden in Sant Ferran.

The programme was announced by Ibiza & Formentera Preservation on September 4, with the organisation’s director of programmes, Itziar Arratibel, highlighting the long-running environmental focus of Qué Celeste.

“Ten editions of the Qué Celeste Festival demonstrate that there is a real interest in Formentera in meeting, participating, and taking action regarding the environment,” Arratibel said, adding that the collaboration provides different ways to approach conservation, including science, biodiversity and art.

The September programme starts with a beach cleanup

The first activity takes place on Saturday, September 12, with a cleanup of S’Estufador beach.

The event runs from 10:00am to 12:00pm, with participants meeting at the church in La Mola before heading towards the coastline.

The cleanup is free and open to anyone who wishes to participate, and no advance registration is required.

The activity offers a direct, practical way for residents and visitors to contribute to the conservation of one of Formentera’s coastal areas while increasing awareness of the waste that can reach and accumulate along the shoreline.

A closer look at the health of the Mediterranean

On Friday, September 18, the programme moves from beach conservation to marine science.

From 9:00am to 1:00pm, members of the public can join an open field activity at S’Illa de s’Aigua Dolça, near Es Pujols, focused on understanding how scientists study the health of the Balearic coastline.

The session will include Samuel Pinya, a biologist and professor of Ecology at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB). Participants will accompany experts in the field, observe marine species and learn what those species can reveal about the ecological condition of the Mediterranean.

The outing forms part of the Coastal Health Monitoring Scheme, known as CHMS, a scientific programme of the UIB that continuously monitors the health and evolution of coastal ecosystems in the Balearic Islands.

This year, Ibiza & Formentera Preservation is co-financing the programme for the first time, making the September activity an opportunity for the public to see part of this monitoring work directly.

Participation is free but advance registration is required through info@ibizapreservation.org. Participants are asked to bring swimwear, a towel and suitable footwear for beaches or rocky coastal areas.

Fourteen artists will turn recovered materials into art

The third initiative brings environmental awareness into the cultural sphere.

On Sunday, September 20, a collective exhibition featuring 14 artists from across the four Balearic Islands will open at the Centre Antoni Tur ‘Gabrielet’ in Sant Francesc.

The exhibition starts at 8:00pm and will remain open until September 27.

The participating artists include five from Formentera, five from Mallorca, two from Menorca and two from Ibiza. Their works use recovered objects and materials, including plastics and other items collected from beaches, reused glass, old sails and fishing nets, transforming them through different artistic and craft disciplines.

The exhibition is intended to encourage a different perspective on waste, showing how discarded or recovered materials can become the basis for creative work rather than simply being treated as rubbish.

The exhibition continues an inter-island recycling project

The Formentera exhibition is also part of a wider inter-island initiative.

It follows the first Meeting of Recycling Artists and Craftspeople, held in Menorca in November 2025 as part of “Weaving the Future: Alliance for the Preservation of the Balearic Islands”.

The project is jointly promoted by Ibiza & Formentera Preservation, Menorca Preservation and Mallorca Preservation.

The 2025 meeting brought together 25 artists and craftspeople from the four Balearic Islands to exchange techniques and experiences connected with the reuse of materials. The initiative culminated in a collective exhibition in Alaior.

According to Arratibel, bringing the project to Formentera allows the organisations to continue building connections between creators across the islands while offering the public another way to think about waste through creativity.

A new butterfly garden is coming to Sant Ferran

The programme concludes on Saturday, September 26, with an activity dedicated to biodiversity.

From 10:00am to 2:00pm, participants will help create a butterfly garden at the Espai Cultural de Sant Ferran.

It will be the second butterfly garden established by Ibiza & Formentera Preservation in Formentera through its “Butterflies for Biodiversity” project. The initiative has been running since 2024 and has already resulted in the planting of nearly 2,000 aromatic plants at locations across Ibiza and Formentera to encourage butterflies and other pollinators.

The September workshop is free, but registration is required through info@ibizapreservation.org.

The project reflects the importance of creating suitable habitats for pollinating insects. The organisation’s 2024 annual report describes “Butterflies for Biodiversity” as a new initiative at the time, inspired by the “Regenerating Butterflies” project and focused on gardens designed to attract pollinators. Its first activity involved volunteers planting more than 650 aromatic shrubs at an organic farm in Ibiza.

Four activities, four approaches to conservation

What makes the September programme notable is the range of activities involved.

The S’Estufador cleanup focuses on direct action along the coastline. The CHMS field outing introduces participants to marine research and environmental monitoring. The recycled-art exhibition approaches the problem of waste through creativity, while the butterfly garden concentrates on biodiversity and habitat creation.

Together, the four activities give residents and visitors several different ways to engage with environmental issues rather than presenting conservation as a single type of campaign.

Qué Celeste celebrates its 10th edition

The activities are being held alongside the 10th edition of the Qué Celeste festival in Formentera.

The festival has maintained an environmental and cultural focus since its launch, and its 2026 programme continues that combination of environmental awareness and public participation. The official Formentera events agenda also lists Qué Celeste 2026 among the island’s September events.

For Ibiza & Formentera Preservation, the collaboration creates an opportunity to bring several of its conservation programmes into a public festival setting while encouraging people to become directly involved.

Formentera invites residents and visitors to take part

With four free activities spread across September, the programme offers opportunities for people to participate at different levels, from spending two hours collecting waste from a beach to observing marine species alongside researchers or helping create a habitat for pollinators.

The first event is the S’Estufador beach cleanup on September 12, followed by the coastal health field outing on September 18, the recycled-materials exhibition opening on September 20 and the butterfly garden workshop on September 26.

Formentera’s September environmental programme ultimately puts the emphasis on participation: understanding the island’s natural environment, seeing the pressures it faces and taking part in practical initiatives designed to protect it.