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For the Good of All!
ANIMAL WELFARE: What We Do
Category:
For the Common Good
We do our best to help animals in need. This is an overview of what we do, despite our limited resources. We aim to do more!
Dogs: how to help when needed
Category:
For the Common Good
Lots of dogs have a tough time on Hvar and in other parts of Croatia. Helping dogs in need can be tricky. These are basic guidelines to help show you what can and can't be done.
Cats: How to help when needed
Category:
For the Common Good
If you want to help cats in need on Hvar, here's how!
Poisoning Paradise - A Wake-Up Call
Category:
For the Common Good
Croatia's unsustainable insect suppression programme: TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
Insects Wanted!
Category:
For the Common Good
Poisons, definitely not! Eco Hvar's campaign against the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides to kill off unwanted insects and other 'pests' began many years ago.
Scrumping on Hvar? We advise against it.
Category:
For the Common Good
As July progresses, the grapes ripen on the vines, ready to reach their full luscious ripeness later on in August. However, foraging is not recommended.
Better Ways
Eco-friendly accommodation on Hvar!
Category:
Better Ways
Ecobnb is an initiative for the 'new' age of growing environmental awareness.
Mosquitoes: Friends and Foes?
Category:
Better Ways
Setting the record straight with a balanced view about mosquitoes and their place in the natural chain!
Go Hvar Go - ORGANIC
Category:
Better Ways
Hvar is an island of natural beauty offering a fabulous range of wild plants and exquisite scenery.
Healthy Herbs and Spices
Category:
Better Ways
Some Super-Healthy Herbs and Spices Used In The Mediterranean Diet
Ants and humane deterrents
Category:
Better Ways
About ants, their varieties, some of their habits and uses, and how to remove them, if you need to, from one’s personal space without cruelty
Nature Watch
Snakes? ditch fears and prejudices
Category:
Nature Watch
As the snakes wake up after their winter hibernation, they should be treated with care and respect!
European Beekeepers seek debate for better bee protection...
Category:
Nature Watch
Insect suppression measures using chemical pesticdes inevitably harm bees and must be part of the discussion!
Highlighting Bees
Category:
Nature Watch
Herbal medicine has a long tradition in Croatia and is still much in use today. A new detailed handbook aims to promote awareness of the natural resources which can benefit human health.
Jelsa's Trees and History
Category:
Nature Watch
The trees which adorn Jelsa have marked significant changes in Jelsan culture and attitudes to the environment over time. Vito Gospodnetić is a dedicated protector of Jelsa's precious natural resources alongside its cultural and historical heritage.
Precious Birds: Saving Owls
Category:
Nature Watch
The Scops Owl is a welcome visitor to Hvar Island every summer. Arriving between the middle of March or beginning of April its persistent single-note call is the hallmark of the warm season.
Birdwatching report Hvar Island: May - October 2024....
Category:
Nature Watch
Reading Steve Jones' report earlier this year, keen birdwatcher Tomislav Sjekloća was inspired to check out the Dračevica pond and other parts of Hvar, and we are delighted he has shared his sightings with us.
Hvar birds, September 2024
Category:
Nature Watch
In early September 2024 a birdwatching couple visited Hvar and we are delighted to report that their trip was reasonably fruitful!.
BATS: know, cherish and protect them!
Category:
Nature Watch
In 2023 the honour of celebrating International Bat Night, which aims to raise people's awareness of the vital importance in our ecosystem, fell to the Krka National Park,which organised a superbly imaginative programme beside its exquisite Skradinski Buk Waterfall.
Orchids need care
Category:
Nature Watch
Highlighting Croatia's wild orchids and the need to treat them with love and respect, the highly active and successful BIOM ASSOCIATION published an article in the spring of 2024 with a plea to pay attention to these fascinating and invaluable plants.
Orchids: Humble, Amazing, Delightful!
Category:
Nature Watch
In 2023 on Hvar there were two special orchid finds by visiting experts from Zagreb, who located the endemic Ophrys pharia and the Himantoglossum robertianum.
Re-wilding in Rovinj: success and failure
Category:
Nature Watch
A visitor to Rovinj in June 2024 found much to admire in the eco-friendly Grand Park Hotel - alongside a major cause for concern.
Birdwatch April - May 2024
Category:
Nature Watch
We are delighted that Steve Jones paid the island a bird-watching visit this spring and has shared his sightings with us.
Birdwatching, April 2023.
Category:
Nature Watch
We are delighted to share Steve Jones's report from a fruitful week's birdwatching in April 2023.
"BEE HAPPY" 2022.
Category:
Nature Watch
Hvar's first observation beehive, celebrating World Bee Day, May 20th 2022.
Brief Nature Watch, Spring 2022
Category:
Nature Watch
Nature watcher Steve Jones paid a short visit to Hvar in April.
Beware: caterpillars processing!
Category:
Nature Watch
The caterpillars of the pine processionary moth (thaumetopoea pityocampa) come out any time between February and April each year.
Luki finds the first Orchids!
Category:
Nature Watch
Luki is one of Hvar's happiest dogs, and one of Hvar's greatest nature-lovers. On March 15th, he sniffed out early orchids not far from Vrboska.
Hvar's Springtime Treats
Category:
Nature Watch
Sunshine, mild weather and some occasional outbursts of rain are bringing Hvar's spring on at great speed.
Saving Wildlife and Biodiversity: Looking to the Future...
Category:
Nature Watch
November 2019 saw the launch of the European Citizens' Initiative petition under the title 'Save Bees and Farmers'.
Dragonflies and Damselflies
Category:
Nature Watch
These delicate-looking, exquisite creatures play an important part in the natural chain. They are especially useful to humans because of their voracious appetite for mosquitoes and other biting insects such as midges.
Birdwatch, June - July 2019
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones of Dol recounts his observations during June and July 2019, a mixture of some disappointments balanced by unexpected joys, including a couple of bird rescues!
Dead bats in Pitve, July 2019
Category:
Nature Watch
Two dead bats lying close together on their doorstep were a sad surprise which greeted a couple in Pitve on the morning of July 24th 2019.
Birdwatch, April 2019
Category:
Nature Watch
Well, as we approached the end of another month, the birds kept arriving.
Birdwatch, March 2019
Category:
Nature Watch
March has proved very interesting, which is just as well, as I was in the UK for most of February so I could not record much.
Birdwatch, January 2019
Category:
Nature Watch
A slow start to the birdwatching year in Dol, following on from the disappointing numbers at the end of 2018.
Bush cricket - seeking identity
Category:
Nature Watch
Identity found! Our bush-cricket has turned out to be Ephippiger discoidalis, the Dalmatian Saddle Bush-cricket.
Birding at the end of 2018
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve jones' last report for 2018, rounding up a year whose final months ended with noticeably few new sightings.
Birdwatch October 2018
Category:
Nature Watch
Yet again our birdwatcher Steve Jones reports lower numbers of species sighted than might be expected.
Birdwatch: rounding up the summer of 2018
Category:
Nature Watch
New bird sightings and interesting insects which showed up during the long hot summer of 2018.
Bee-Eaters, one of Hvar's prime attractions
Category:
Nature Watch
Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) are brightly coloured, exquisite birds.
Nature Watch, May 2018
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones, ever on the watch for birds, has some exciting sightings in May.
Birdwatch March-April 2018
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve reports from Dol on the unsettled spring weather, and the welcome bird arrivals on Hvar.
Birdwatch, January - February 2018
Category:
Nature Watch
Well as I type this on March 1st looking out at my bird feeders amidst heavy snowfall, the birding calendar tells me Spring is on its way.
Birdwatch & Insects, Autumn-Winter 2017
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones rounds off the year, puzzled by the absence of some birds he expected to see.
The Bee Hotel: Encouraging Wildlife in our Garden...
Category:
Nature Watch
Having offered hospitality to a young swallow family earlier in the year, Marion and Zzdravko decided to extend their facilities to welcome bees.
Birdwatch, August - September 2017
Category:
Nature Watch
Well summer is over, birding-wise, and during the last three months, hopefully, birds have bred successfully on the island. I have certainly seen evidence of this, particularly recently, with good numbers of House Sparrows all around. Also frequently during the summer months I have seen birds carrying food to nests.
Birdwatch, June - July 2017
Category:
Nature Watch
The summer months were intensely hot. By June 12th there was very little about. On a trip to the pond that morning I found that the biggest area was about to evaporate later that day– there was a tiny little pool with the remaining fish all gasping. Equally I saw a Cormorant, probably stocking up with an easy source of food.
Storks visit Jelsa!
Category:
Nature Watch
On September 17th 2017, two storks touched down in Jelsa.
Nesting swallows: good luck promised!
Category:
Nature Watch
Marion Podolski has the good fortune to have swallows nesting in her doorway in Vrboska on Hvar. Exciting and fascinating!
Birdwatch, May 2017
Category:
Nature Watch
After a brief absence from the island, Steve Jones caught up with the bird activities in May. Lots of early-summer action going on!
Birdwatch, March 2017
Category:
Nature Watch
An active month for Steve Jones. An unexpected turtle appears, and interesting birds are coming and going on Hvar!
Birdwatch, February 2017
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones' bird sightings in February 2017. Happily, gaps are being filled!
SOS: Bats Gone Missing!
Category:
Nature Watch
Eco Hvar is not alone in being worried that bats are increasingly rare on Hvar Island.
Orchids on Pelješac
Category:
Nature Watch
Orchid enthusiast Frank Verhart continued his researches into European orchids during 2016. He found much of interest on the Pelješac peninsula.
Hvar's Wildflowers and Plants in Winter
Category:
Nature Watch
Mara of Go Hvar casts her artistic eye over Hvar's surprisingly abundant winter wildflowers.
Another Kingfisher sighting, in December!
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones was delighted to spot a Kingfisher for the first time on Hvar.
Pesticides: UNESCO-approved?
Category:
Nature Watch
Hvar is rightly proud of its UNESCO-recognized assets, but are they being looked after?
Bird sightings 2016
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones has kindly provided a listing of the birds sighted during 2016, with English, Latin and Croatian names..
Hvar's Butterflies
Category:
Nature Watch
Marion Podolski casts her expert artistic eye over Hvar's butterflies.
Hvar's Wild Flowers in the Late Summer
Category:
Nature Watch
Marion Podolski, author of the exquisite blog Go Hvar, continues her illustrated seasonal researches into Hvar's abundant wild flowers.
Autumn update from Dol, 2016
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones has kept up his Nature watching through Hvar's mild autumn weather. More dragonflies, but less birds than expected.
Summer nature report from Dol, 2016
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones has been keeping track of birds, butterflies and moths in Dol.
A guide to Hvar's wildflowers - Spring edition...
Category:
Nature Watch
A beautiful overview of Hvar's rich springtime flower offerings by Marion Podolski.
Black-winged stilts at Soline
Category:
Nature Watch
A rare sighting of an endangered species, with thanks to Alison and Bojan Bujić.
April Bird Watch, 2016
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve Jones from Dol continues his study of the island's birds. Anyone who is seeing or hearing anything of interest in the bird world is invited to contact him at: [email protected]
March Bird Watch, 2016
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve from Dol reports on the new sightings which herald the arrival of spring.
January Bird Watch, 2016
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve from Dol completes his report for the month of January 2016.
February Nature Watch, 2016
Category:
Nature Watch
Steve reports from Dol - he feels there should be more to see!
Trees and Hvar's Youngest Eco-Warrior
Category:
Nature Watch
Trees are among Hvar's major assets. They need nurturing and protecting. Taliah Bradbury (7) is preparing to take on the task.
Wild Lilies, a May Treat
Category:
Nature Watch
Hvar in May is a delight of wild flowers, with brilliant colours all around in the many parts of the island where nature is allowed to flourish unhindered.
Summer birds returning, 2014
Category:
Nature Watch
This morning, May Day, I heard my first golden oriole of this year. Known in Croatian as 'vuga', the golden oriole is easier to hear than to catch a glimpse of.
Poppy Death. In Memoriam
Category:
Nature Watch
I was delighted to see my first poppy of the season two days ago, and duly recorded my pleasure yesterday morning.
Highlights
The Island Voice
Category:
Highlights
Local dialects are spoken less and less, so every effort to retain their special charm is welcome. From Pitve on Hvar Island, poetess Ičica Barišić has been preserving the particular dialect of her village for many years.
Recycling in Jelsa
Category:
Highlights
We are delighted to report that the Recycling Yard for the Jelsa Municipality is now functioning, after a long period of 'teething problems'. This is good news for everyone who cares about the environment. We hope all residents and visitors will be encouraged to manage waste of all kinds responsibly.
PLEASE HELP THE BESTIE ANIMAL PROTECTION FOUNDATION
Category:
Highlights
An appeal from the heart for happy wagging tails! The Bestie Foundation is in urgent need of financial help, and here are twelve good reasons for supporting it.
Birds, Bee-eaters, Devastation, Conservation, Tourism
Category:
Highlights
Hvar's natural environment is its greatest asset, for those who live on the island and its visitors.
Saint John Paul II: relics on Hvar!
Category:
Highlights
In an event of huge significance to the Catholic population of the island, relics of St. John Paul II were brought to the parishes of Vrisnik and Pitve in September 2021, thanks to parish priest Don Robert Bartoszek.
Insect Spraying: Open Letter to Jelsa Council
Category:
Highlights
An open letter to Jelsa Council authorities about unacceptable practices related to the Insect Suppression Programme,
Croatia, Beloved Country
Category:
Highlights
"My connection to Croatia is unbreakable. I feel it as a cord of turquoise and rosemary and cicadas and curry plants, from my heart to that island. I feel blessed every single day to have Croatia in my heart."
Hvar's children excel, Eco Hvar benefits!
Category:
Highlights
Children who care make a BIG difference to the world around them. It is great to find them on Hvar.
Tourism is people
Category:
Highlights
From the 1960s, package tourism was the mainstay of the trade on the Croatian coast (which was then part of now-defunct Yugoslavia).
Jelsa's Digital Nomads
Category:
Highlights
Jessica Romano and Thibaud Duprat settled in Jelsa as remote workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A different kind of tourist attraction
Category:
Highlights
On Tuesday 16th July, the Ultra festival descended on Hvar, whose long-suffering citizens braced themselves for the event.
Jelsa welcomes Premier Plenković
Category:
Highlights
Premier Andrej Plenković visited Jelsa on its special Council Day celebrating the Feast of the Assumption.
Reviving Lavender
Category:
Highlights
Hvar is known as the Lavender Island. After years of decline, lavender cultivation is happily enjoying a revival.
Lost and found
Category:
Highlights
Lost! A visitor's money belt, containing passport, money, credit cards, airline ticket.... Found! by a miracle. An uplifting tale.
Jelsa Elections, May 2017
Category:
Highlights
The forthcoming local elections on Hvar promise to be interesting, by contrast with the General Election two years ago.
Protect the Adriatic!
Category:
Highlights
The Clean Adriatic Sea Alliance (CASA) is highly active in the campaign to protect and save the Adriatic Sea, which is increasingly endangered.
Summer's major feast: Vela Gospa
Category:
Highlights
The Feast of Our Lady's Assumption (Vela Gospa in Croatian) is a major festival in the Catholic calendar, and is a public holiday throughout Croatia.
Let the bells ring out!
Category:
Highlights
Church bells are part of daily life all over Croatia. Splitska on Brač Island is one of the few places where the bells are rung by hand and not electronically controlled.
Asparagus feast for a good cause
Category:
Highlights
Asparagus was the focus of an unusual charitable event in Hvar Town.
THE MAYOR SIGNS UP
Category:
Highlights
Jelsa's dynamic mayor, Nikša Peronja, puts his name to the efforts to make Hvar a properly Green Island.
ECO-SEMINAR HELD IN HVAR
Category:
Highlights
An inaugural seminar on topics related to organic farming was held in the Loggia in Hvar Town on April 7th 2016.
Hvar's Cultural Heritage on UNESCO Lists
Category:
Highlights
The exhibition of Croatia's cultural heritage as recognized on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List reflects Hvar's wealth of prized assets and traditions.
Karnevol 2016, Shooting Stars
Category:
Highlights
The 2016 Karnevol skit - inevitably - centred on Jelsa's Christmas “Star Wars”. Friendly fun, culminating in peace.
Karnevol Kids, Jelsa 2016
Category:
Highlights
Shrove Tuesday on February 9th was blessed with benign weather for the 2016 'Karnevol' celebrations.
Jelsa's Young Photographers Excel
Category:
Highlights
Jelsa's Elementary School is outstanding in promoting worthwhile extra-curricular activities. Photography is one which gives pupils a special experience of the world around them.
Tree life support, January 2016
Category:
Highlights
The replanting project to rejuvenate Hvar's woodlands with autochthonous black pines continued at the end of January, backed by a mobile exhibition highlighting the importance of trees for the island.
Udruga Održivi otok - Sustainable Island
Category:
Highlights
A splendid initiative to promote Hvar Island and raise the standards of environmental care.
Shrove Tuesday Carnival in Jelsa 2015
Category:
Highlights
The Udruga Karnevol created yet another resounding success for the start of Lent in 2015.
PM visits Jelsa
Category:
Highlights
Prime Minister Zoran Milanović paid a flying visit to Jelsa on Shrove Tuesday, February 17th 2015.
Jelsa's Talented Young Artists
Category:
Highlights
Museum Night in Jelsa on January 30th 2015 was a showcase of Jelsa's young talent.
Christmas in Pitve
Category:
Highlights
Midnight Mass comes early in Pitve, as there are too few priests on Hvar to celebrate every Mass in every working church.
Christmas and New Year run-up in Jelsa...
Category:
Highlights
Jelsa's children enjoyed evenings and days of fun in the run-up to Christmas and beyond.
'Prostitute Palm' Reprieved
Category:
Highlights
Good news for Vrboska's iconic palm at the end of 2014.
St. Nicholas and St. Lucy in Stari Grad...
Category:
Highlights
Christmas on Hvar is very different from the festive season on the mainland.
London Lecture on Diocletian's Palace
Category:
Highlights
Dr.Radoslav Bužančić's London lecture entitled ‘Diocletian’s Palace in Split: New Discoveries’ aroused great interest among experts in archaeology, architecture, history of art, museology and the protection of cultural monuments and heritage.
EC Response on Adriatic Oil Drilling
Category:
Highlights
In response to a request from Hvar's registered charity Dignitea, the EC has sent a full explanation of the regulations which should be applied to the proposed oil and gas drilling in the Adriatic.
Jelsa's School for Talent
Category:
Highlights
Jelsa's elementary school (Osnovna škola) encourages young talent, and is producing generations of highly skilled creative pupils.
A Seaplane Takes Off in Jelsa
Category:
Highlights
After several years of trying, the German company European Coastal Airlines (ECA) finally had lift-off.
'Jewel' saves a kitten
Category:
Highlights
Yet another abandoned kitten found and brought to safety by concerned tourists.
About Animals
Eco Hvar's cat feeding stations
Category:
About Animals
IMPORTANT NOTICE! We have invested a large amount of care and money over several years in setting up our feeding stations. We have designed and financed the cat hutches and placed them in locations with permission from the property owners. This is how they work:
Miki, A Happy Rescue Cat
Category:
About Animals
Miki, a very special kitten, tells the heartwarming story of how he found his ideal family.
About poisonings
Category:
About Animals
What to do if your pet ingests a poisonous substance, or if you come across dead animals and suspect poisoning as the cause.
Azriel, a very lucky cat
Category:
About Animals
A forlorn stray cat had the good luck to fall on all four paws at the Petar Hektorović Elementary School in Stari Grad.
Lassie's journey
Category:
About Animals
A little dog wandering around the centre of Jelsa, lost, bewildered and frightened, had no way of knowing how her luck was about to turn.
Animals and a Kinder World
Category:
About Animals
The feast day of St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated on October 4th each year, which is also World Animal Day.
Street cats: a new opportunity
Category:
About Animals
Thanks to Jelsa Mayor Nikša Peronja, Jelsa's stray cats have been given a new chance to survive and thrive in peace.
Cats, Friends, Helpers
Category:
About Animals
Eco Hvar is sometimes criticized for doing too little - or even nothing - to help the island's innumerable needy cats and kittens. In fact there are lots of residents around the island, locals and incomers, who consistently do their utmost to help.
Dog safety
Category:
About Animals
Lost or abandoned? It's all too easy for a dog to get lost, often much harder to find it.
Cat Feeding Stations
Category:
About Animals
We are delighted to see our cat feeders being put to good use! The initiative is developing slowly but surely.
Luki, Guardian of Hvar's Treasures: Galešnik
Category:
About Animals
Lucky Luki revels joyfully in his explorations of Hvar's boundless beauties. The Galešnik fortress in the hill to the south above Jelsa is one of his regular haunts.
Luki Guardian of Hvar's Treasures: Tor
Category:
About Animals
Luki and his human minder Ivica are keeping the old footpaths viable: Jelsa's historic Tor is one of their favourite destinations.
Luki, Guardian of Hvar's Treasures: Poljica
Category:
About Animals
There's nothing Luki likes better than exploring the lesser known areas of Hvar Island. The eastern region is largely overlooked and (mercifully) underdeveloped, so it is perfect territory for Luki and his friends.
Luki, Guardian of Hvar's Treasures: St. Luke's Chapel...
Category:
About Animals
Luki and his two-legged pet parent Ivica love their native land deeply and unreservedly.
St. Rocco, Patron Saint of Dogs
Category:
About Animals
August 16th is the feast of St. Rocco, the patron saint of dogs.
Luki's new bootees: a summer must!
Category:
About Animals
Dog owners be warned! In Dalmatia's hot summers, dog paws may need protecting.
Annie's Story
Category:
About Animals
Sometime in early November 2018, a bitch was dumped by the roadside above Jelsa, not far from the Medical Services Clinic, with her five puppies.
Donkeys, horses, lessons in patience
Category:
About Animals
Donkeys have served humankind since time immemorial. The donkey is a symbol of Dalmatia.
Goats' Play
Category:
About Animals
Vrisnik is a village which boasts many animals. Goats are among the most prized.
Dogs as friends
Category:
About Animals
Dogs in a loving home become friends with their owners. They say that anyone who doesn't like animals doesn't like humans either.
Cats, music, fun
Category:
About Animals
Cats and music both give pleasure to many. Combine the two...pure joy for cat and music lovers!
A Beloved Pony in Svirče
Category:
About Animals
This is the story of a pony who has captivated the hearts of all around him in the quiet inland village of Svirče on Hvar. He is a walking symbol of unconditional love!
Hunting Dog Rescued: A Lucky Escape
Category:
About Animals
The hunting season on Hvar lasts from October to January, the busy season for hunting dogs.
Ruby, a lucky puppy!
Category:
About Animals
On a lovely sunny March day, a lucky puppy visited Jelsa for a coffee break with her new owners.
Puppy love
Category:
About Animals
Luck intervened when a puppy was left to its fate on wasteland near Split on a hot day in July.
Rocky, a happy rescue dog
Category:
About Animals
Not all dogs live the life of Riley in Dalmatia, but some are luckier than others. Here Rocky tells his story.
Bobi, the dog who didn't need to die...
Category:
About Animals
Bobi roamed free in Jelsa for several years. His sudden death carries a warning.
The Trouble With Cats
Category:
About Animals
The sufferings of Hvar's cats blight an otherwise happy visit to Hvar.
Nola, a happy rescue tale
Category:
About Animals
Nola, a type of Siberian husky, had an unpromising start to her young life.
Negra needs a home!
Category:
About Animals
Beautiful, intelligent, good-natured and lively, Negra will bring joy to the right owner.
Maza, The Dog Who Came Home
Category:
About Animals
From Skittish Stari Grad Street Dog to Alpha Canine Queen of Dol, Sveta Ana. Evening Lategano of the Suncrokret Body and Soul Retreat in Dol tells the story of Maza's rescue.
Forum items
Taking care: helping street cats
Category:
Forum items
From our in-box, a question about providing facilities for street cats in Split, with our advice: take care!
Mosquitoes, holiday planning
Category:
Forum items
A worried parent asks Eco Hvar about mosquitoes on Hvar. Is there cause for concern?
Mosquitoes and more
Category:
Forum items
An Irish family complain to Eco Hvar about the prevalence of mosquitoes during their holiday in Vitarnja.
A learning curve
Category:
Forum items
A post on the Eco Hvar Facebook page led to an unexpected response. Eco Hvar learned a lot!
Dragonflies, info request
Category:
Forum items
Can anyone help with information about dragonflies on Hvar?
Kingfishers
Category:
Forum items
A question about kingfisher behaviours following a sighting in Zavala (Stari Grad) in September 2015.
Leishmaniasis precautions
Category:
Forum items
An inquiry from the UK about leishmaniasis protection measures.
Help for a 'stray' cat
Category:
Forum items
My friend and I visited Hvar over the weekend. During our stay we met a street cat that we grew very attached of each other.
Mosquitoes, worst ever
Category:
Forum items
Despite the local authorities' attempts to control mosquitoes with pesticides, many have complained that the mosquitoes on the island are more virulent than ever.
Olive oil producers
Category:
Forum items
Query: It was a pleasant surprise to come across your article regarding olive oil making in Dalmatia. Me and my husband have taken it up as a serious hobby to be involved in the olive oil process in m...
Feeding cats in Brela
Category:
Forum items
I am staying at the Hotel Berulia in Brela and have been feeding a mother,father and five kittens about (10 weeks old). Do they get rid of the kittens in the winter when there are no guests?
Stray cat in Hvar Town
Category:
Forum items
We are currently visiting your lovely island and are staying in the Amfora Hotel. Since our arrival we have fallen in love with a beautiful stray young cat.
Stray dog in Hvar Town
Category:
Forum items
Hello I was staying in Hvar Town for 5 days last week in June 14 and we tried our best to care for the kittens, cats we have seen as they were so very skinny. What is keeping me awake at night back in...
Notices
NOTICE: AGM FOR 2025
Category:
Notices
The 13th Eco Hvar annual general meeting will be held on Saturday 27th June 2026 at 16:30 in the Caffe 'Splendid' in Jelsa.
Eco Hvar Election Meeting
Category:
Notices
Election of Eco Hvar officials, meeting to be held on 28.03.2026.
SUMMER FIRE PREVENTION
Category:
Notices
No open fires allowed between June 1st and 1st October 2026! In case of fire, ring 193 or 112.
Tree of Heaven : an Invasion!
Category:
Notices
Many people are concerned about the rapid spread of the so-called tree of heaven, and this is a call for awareness to try to stop the damage.
Tragic Prelude to a Celebration
Category:
Notices
A harrowing incident the night before the major celebration in Honour of the Homeland provided an example of two opposite attitudes: irresponsible dog owners versus selfless saviours of a helpless kitten.
APPEAL FOR HVAR'S CATS
Category:
Notices
Please help us to create healthy, happy cats on Hvar, without unwanted kittens and heartbreaking killings!
Christmas 2024.
Category:
Notices
Emma is one of the many animals rescued over the years through Eco Hvar. We are very grateful to Bernie for sharing this happy seasonal photo with us. To see more of his splendid artistic photography visit his website: https://www.hvar-mania.photography/"
Notice: Rubbish Bills in Jelsa
Category:
Notices
We have received reports that property owners in the Jelsa Municipality are being over-charged for their rubbish collection services.
ECO HVAR AND THE LAW
Category:
Notices
Our Association Eco Hvar has always operated within applicable laws. Any suggestion to the contrary is slanderous.
EU Parliament and Pesticides
Category:
Notices
Who supported farmers, people and nature? If you care about human health and the environment, be informed and use your vote wisely!
HVAR - SPLIT
Category:
Notices
FERRIES AND CATAMARANS – HVAR ISLAND TO SPLIT / TRAJEKTI I KATAMARANI – OTOK HVAR DO SPLITA
Warning: Rat Poison
Category:
Notices
Dog-owners beware: poison baits at the Car Testing Station in Vrbanj!
For Foreign Property Owners
Category:
Notices
If you are a foreigner and own property in Croatia, read on.
EU Hearing on Pesticides
Category:
Notices
Resulting from the successful European Citizens' Initiative Petition, in which 1,1 million Europeans asked for an end to pesticide use, there will be a hearing in the EU Parliament on January 24th 2023.
Eco Hvar Supporters Honoured
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Notices
Congratulations to Eco Hvar supporters Daniela Lučić and Mario Cvrković, who were honoured on the occasion of Jelsa's Feast Day, 15th August 2020.
The Stari Grad Plain: Survey for the Future...
Category:
Notices
This EUSurvey aims to identify ways of branding the UNESCO-listed Stari Grad Plain and making it more attractive to visitors.
Poisons Beware!
Biocides Used for Fogging
Category:
Poisons Beware
Examples of the biocides (chemical insecticides) used for fogging actions to control adult mosquitoes, citing their active ingredients and possible adverse effects.
Fogging Announcements and Warnings
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Poisons Beware
Some announcements of adulticide fogging timings and warnings. Practices around Croatia are varied and not always in keeping with the regulations.
Insect Suppression: Calling the Inspectors!
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Poisons Beware
After many years of observing the practice of the Croatian national insect suppression programme, we have come to the conclusion that the time has come for the Inspectors to investigate the situation and to institute (we hope) safer methods.
KILLING INSECTS, DESTROYING PARADISE
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Poisons Beware
If someone filled a spray can with potentially deadly poisons and went round spraying people at random, everyone, including the police, would react to put a stop to it.
Insect Spraying - Scandalous Practices
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Poisons Beware
Letter sent to the Public Health authorities on 12th June 2024, following yet another scandalous example of irresponsible poison spraying against insects.
Pesticide chaos: action urgently needed!
Category:
Poisons Beware
Towards the end of 2023, the European Parliament and the European Commission showed that they are not willing or able to protect European citizens from the ill-effects of chemical pesticides. So what needs to be done?
Pesticides: Why Not
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Poisons Beware
CHEMICAL PESTICIDE USE AT CURRENT LEVELS IS NEITHER SAFE NOR SUSTAINABLE!
Pesticides and their adverse effects
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Poisons Beware
Scientific evidence of the dangers surrounding chemical pesticides commonly used on Hvar and in other parts of Croatia.
Glyphosate herbicides, scientific evidence
Category:
Poisons Beware
An overview of the scientific evidence for claims that glyphosate-based herbicides are or are not safe.
Pesticide Products in Croatia
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Poisons Beware
A listing of selected pesticides which are, or have been in common use in Croatia, with the official warnings of their side-effects and the known side-effects of their active constituents.
Testing For Pesticides
Category:
Poisons Beware
Testing people on Hvar Island for pesticides via hair samples is an ongoing project, conducted by Eco Hvar. These are the preliminary results from the Kudzu laboratory which tested for 60 pesticides in 2021 and 100 as from 2022.
Pesticide Testing in the Home
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Poisons Beware
Results from testing a dust sample taken from a house in Svirče on Hvar on June 22nd 2021.
Insecticide, raticide, pesticide: unwinnable wars.
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Poisons Beware
The concept of exterminating people, for whatever reason, is unacceptable in civilized societies.
Pesticides, Laws and Permits
Category:
Poisons Beware
This is a guide to the systems governing chemical pesticide regulation, registers and laws, with an overview of some of the many problems arising from pesticide use.
Pesticide Control: Responsibilities Must Be Faced
Category:
Poisons Beware
Chemical poison use is out of control in much of the modern world. Safeguards exist in theory, in practice they are inadequate. At each level of responsibility, practices need to be improved. These are our suggestions for achieving vital improvements.
God save our bees!
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Poisons Beware
Bees are dying at a frightening rate. Humankind - unkindly - is decimating biodiversity.
About the Insect Suppression Programme
Category:
Poisons Beware
The programme aimed at killing mosquitoes is causing environmental disaster!
Insect Spraying Pros and Cons
Category:
Poisons Beware
For several years, the local councils of Jelsa, Stari Grad and Hvar have routinely sprayed the streets against mosquitoes, flies and other 'flying pests'. Is this a good thing?
Insect spraying: the 'fogging' practice
Category:
Poisons Beware
Would I find myself driving home through a mist of toxic chemicals if I caught the 20:30 ferry back from Split? That was the question on 27th September 2017.
Insect spraying: rethink needed
Category:
Poisons Beware
The campaign to eliminate mosquitoes through routine insect spraying is not working! And it's dangerous. We at Eco Hvar are asking for change.
Insect spraying: the campaign
Category:
Poisons Beware
Because we at Eco Hvar are very concerned about the shortcomings of the mosquito liquidation programme on Hvar and around Croatia, we have petitioned the Minister for Health to re-consider the methods used.
Insect spraying calls for change
Category:
Poisons Beware
Our request to Croatian local and national authorities to review the insect suppression programme has produced a lamentable response so far. It's hard getting the message across, but we will keep trying.
Insect spraying: save the bees!
Category:
Poisons Beware
A bee sting can cause a severe allergic reaction in a vulnerable person. Under current Croatian law, insects which cause allergic reactions must be subjected to an annual programme of suppression.
Rat poison: time to think again
Category:
Poisons Beware
Just as the use of insecticides does not solve a mosquito problem, vermin are not controlled by repeated use of poisons.
Pesticides, Profit, Torture
Category:
Poisons Beware
The look of abject terror on the monkey's face is a haunting picture, the stuff of nightmares for anyone with an ounce of empathy for torture victims, whether human or animal. Animals are frontline victims of dangerous chemicals.
Pesticides: cause for alarm
Category:
Poisons Beware
From October 1st 2016, the sale of Roundup (Croatian Cidokor) and 11 other similar glyphosate-based herbicides was banned in the European Union. The ban should serve as a wake-up call to all users, supporters and promoters of pesticides.
A pestilence of poisons
Category:
Poisons Beware
Pesticides safe? Pull the other one, it's got bells on!
Poisons Fit For Eating?
Category:
Poisons Beware
The manufacturers have claimed that the herbicide Roundup, whose active ingredient is glyphosate, is "safe enough to drink", and many people are naive enough to believe this.
Can we do without chemical pesticides?
Category:
Poisons Beware
Are there alternatives to using chemical pesticides? Yes, of course.
Glyphosate, EU, Tragedy in the Making
Category:
Poisons Beware
When the World Health Organization defined Glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans”, it should have put an immediate stop to the sale and use of Glyphosate-based herbicides.
Green MEPs 'pissed off'
Category:
Poisons Beware
The Green Group of the European Parliament organized urine tests for the herbicide glyphosate on 48 volunteer MEPs.
Insecticides In The Air
Category:
Poisons Beware
The practice of spraying the roads with insecticides in the summertime is potentially harmful and needs urgent review.
Are you still using pesticides?
Category:
Poisons Beware
It's time to wise up! Look around, what's happening?
Donations
Donations can be made in euros, pounds sterling, US and Australian dollars and Swiss francs. All donations, however small, are very welcome. We acknowledge donations by email if we have the donor's address. Please let us know if you require a formal paper receipt.
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW BANK DETAILS:
ECO HVAR BANK DETAILS
OTP banka d.d. Split, Domovinskog rata 61, 21000 Split;
Poslovnica Jelsa, 21465 Jelsa.
IBAN HR7024070001100727245; BIC OTPVHR2X
Account name: ECO HVAR
Account name: ECO HVAR
Account address: Pitve 93, 21465 Jelsa, Croatia
If the payment slip has a box for 'further details' or 'further information' you should enter the Charity's OIB: 14009858487, and state 'donation' or 'donacija'.
Eco Environment News feeds
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How growing up in ‘Chemical Valley’ inspired lawyer to sue industry she used to work for
Hélène Duguy is taking on companies accused of failing to stop Pfas pollution in the area of France she calls home
The factories were just part of the landscape for Hélène Duguy growing up in the heart of an area known as France’s “Chemical Valley”.
“Those factories are visible from my mother’s apartment,” says Duguy, 34, whose mother still lives in St-Genis-Laval, south of Lyon.
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Air conditioning push favoured over emissions cuts in six European nations, survey finds
Poll also finds sizeable majorities who believe it should be easier to install air con in homes
Given the choice, more people across six major European nations including the UK favour encouraging the adoption of air conditioning over keeping carbon emissions down, a survey has found.
After four extreme heatwaves that have caused thousands of excess deaths across the continent, the survey showed between 30% and 52% of people in six countries had feared for their household’s health in temperatures close to or above 40C (104F).
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How do you vaccinate 1,000 tiny penguins against bird flu in the wild? It’s ‘really tricky’ but there is a way
Phillip Island’s ‘iconic’ little penguins get first bird flu vaccinations in what is thought to be largest program of its kind
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
More than 1,000 little penguins have received their first dose of bird flu vaccine in Victoria, in what is believed to be the world’s largest vaccination program involving wild birds.
Catherine Basterfield, the chief executive of Phillip Island Nature Parks, said vaccinations began early last week and were ramping up.
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Wild beaver kits born in Norfolk for first time in more than 500 years
Pair are offspring of two beavers who mysteriously arrived in Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham in December
Wild beaver kits have been born in Norfolk for the first time in more than 500 years.
The pair of newborns are the offspring of two free-living beavers who mysteriously arrived in Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham in December.
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Country diary: South Wales’s summer of fires will linger long in the memory | Eben Muse
Tylorstown, Rhondda Valley: These coal areas are shaped by fire and ash. I find a high point to try and survey the damage
My friend John and I are climbing Tylorstown Tip – a summit also known as Old Smokey, named after the hot ash it was partly made with. We want to see how much of south Wales has burned.
The tip towers over the surrounding hills, a perfect crow’s nest from which to witness the blackening of the region. From the summit, with its sitka spruce and flowering heather, the expanse of St Gwynno’s forest spreads out before us, all 6,533 acres of it. Browned, dead plantation forestry gives way to grassland burned to cinder. A veil of smoke lies above the forest for miles.
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‘I love it. It’s hope’: the mysterious self-willed wildflower meadow that seeded itself
Farmer Derek Sayer let a boggy field run wild and just one annual hay-cut has led to remarkable biodiversity
Tucked away on a country lane, a small field bursts with yellow and pink flowers. Quail and whitethroats call from the thick hedges and the plants, including common centaury, yellow rattle and marsh and common spotted orchids, bounce with hoverflies and butterflies.
More than 150 plant species have been recorded on Sayer’s Old Meadow, in north Norfolk, England, which is remarkable when there was just one – oilseed rape – growing there 21 years ago.
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London’s low emission zone is working – so why are cities around the world so cautious about clean air?
Similar initiatives have been launched from Barcelona to Bogotá, but they have misinformation, political pressure and vested interests stacked against them
Ten years ago, Alastair Harper was an advocate for young people’s health sitting in a stuffy meeting room in London planning an air pollution campaign. “My phone started buzzing,” he said. “I took the call, and then told the room I needed to leave immediately.
“I had to get to UCLH [one of London’s major hospitals]. My own child was headed there in a blue-lit ambulance because she was struggling to breathe London’s toxic air.”
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Devastation, doubt and blame: Hurricane Helene looms over North Carolina’s US Senate race
The Democratic and the Republican candidate each blame the other for the bungled recovery effort after storm struck region
Two years after North Carolina suffered the worst natural disaster in its history when Hurricane Helene struck the state’s western half, life in the hardest-hit areas appears back to normal. Downtowns are lively, blocked roads have been reopened and rivers are flowing below their banks.
But the telltale evidence of the disaster’s expensive impacts can still be seen – from “for rent” signs in storefronts whose businesses never came back to debris from the storm still lurking in some waterways. And in the race for North Carolina’s US Senate seat, it’s almost as if the hurricane never left.
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No fridge, no fans, just blocks of ice: improvising to survive in Pakistan’s searing heat
With limited electricity and poor ventilation, many families in Nasirabad have little to shield them from temperatures of up to 50C
As the first light reaches Nasirabad, a queue of men, women and children has already formed outside the town’s ice factory, with their buckets, sacks and plastic containers. Among those hoping to buy some ice to help their families endure another scorching day is 12-year-old Taimoor, in his school uniform. He says it is his most important task of the day.
“If I do not bring the ice, how will we endure the heat at home?” he says. “And how will we drink water that feels as though it is boiling?”
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If all car tyres were filled with CO2, would this cut atmospheric carbon significantly?
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions probes an intriguing scientific question in relation to the climate emergency
Readers reply: Is it inevitable that consumerism will literally fill up the planet?
If all the vehicles on the planet had their tyres pumped up with CO2, would this lock up enough carbon to lower the amount in the air significantly? Would there be other issues, such as the carbon cost of trapping it all into the tyres? Chris Coldwell, Lancaster
Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to[email protected]. A selection will be published next Sunday.
Continue reading...
Eco Health News feeds
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Why is it so hard to find an NHS dentist? Find out how many have closed where you live
Nearly 600 practices in England have withdrawn from NHS dentistry over the last 10 years, as the service heads towards a two-tier system.
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Vaccine breakthrough stops cancer returning in trial
A new jab extended the length of time patients were cancer free, but it is unclear for how long.
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'I can't do the things my friends do': Life as a teenage carer
Young carers face huge disadvantages growing up - one teenager explains what life is like.
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Weekly type 2 diabetes jab could replace daily injections
Hundreds of thousands of people with type 2 diabetes could get access to a new weekly insulin jab to replace daily injections.
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Vapes could lead to health harms in children, doctors warn
A Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has published a report with concerns vaping is a gateway to smoking
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Salmonella outbreak: What we know so far
Hundreds have fallen ill with salmonella infections in an outbreak linked to imported eggs.
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Scientists 'stunned' by children's lung recovery in ultra low emission zone
Children's lung capacity caught up with their peers in less polluted areas once a clean air zone came in, a study shows.
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One dead and hundreds ill in UK salmonella outbreak
Most of the cases were in England in recent weeks, linked to eating imported eggs, experts believe.
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IVF staff accused of misleading UK parents about sperm and egg donors in northern Cyprus
Multiple children are feared to have been conceived using sperm and egg donors which were not the ones selected by the parents.
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Did the eclipse damage your eyes?
An eye surgeon says that fewer people have been seeking treatment for eye damage than after the UK's last total solar eclipse in 1999.
Eco Nature News feeds
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Candid cameras catch a glimpse of rare wildlife
Deep in the mountains of Palawan, Conservation International scientists are capturing what few people ever see: the secret lives of the Philippines’ rarest species.
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How a family farm in the Amazon landed on the world’s best menu
At Maido — the Lima restaurant recently crowned the best in the world — one of the star dishes is paiche, a giant prehistoric river fish.Its journey to the table begins on a small family farm deep in Peru’s Amazon.
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‘A profound loss’: Conservation world mourns Jane Goodall
“Jane Goodall forever changed how people think about, interact with and care for the natural world,” said Daniela Raik, interim CEO of Conservation International.
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Conservation International expert earns global recognition on TIME100 Next
Conservation International’s Neil Vora was selected for TIME’s Next 100 list — alongside other rising leaders reshaping culture, science and society.
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What on Earth is ‘coral bleaching’?
Climate change is happening. And it’s placing the world’s reefs in peril. What can be done?
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Landmark high seas treaty crosses finish line
After decades of negotiation, the high seas treaty is finally reality. The historic agreement will pave the way to protect international waters which face numerous threats.
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News spotlight: Deforestation linked to dramatic decline in Amazon rainfall
The Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out — and deforestation is largely to blame.
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5 ways the ocean keeps our climate in check
The ocean is engine of all life on Earth, but human-driven climate change is pushing it past its limits. Here are five ways the ocean keeps our climate in check — and what can be done to help.
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Off Mexico’s coast, divers nab biggest ‘ghost’ yet
In a grueling and delicate dance, a team led by Conservation International removes a massive undersea killer.
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Protect wildlife: Buy a print
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures might be worth even more. An initiative featuring the work of some of the world’s best nature photographers raises money for environmental conservation.
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