Environmental stars

Majorca celebrated World Environment Day yesterday with festivities being held in Palma and at Michael Douglas's Costa Nord cultural centre in Valldemossa. The Hollywood actor, accompanied by the President of the Insular Council of Majorca, Maria Antonia Munar, attended the festivities and announced the winners of the “Project Nature” competition which involved the island's schools. Douglas and Munar presented the prizes to the winners of the competition organised in association with the Insular Council and the Association for the Defence of the Islands. Over 4'000 primary and secondary school children entered the competition, which Douglas said he was extremely pleased with. This year was the third edition of Project Nature which is aimed at educating school children about the importance of protecting the Tramuntana mountain range, preserving the region's beauty and recyling. This year marked the second consecutive edition of Project Tramuntana which was set up to increase school children's awareness of the history, culture and geography of the mountain range, all of which Michael Douglas holds dear to his heart hence his cultural centre. Presenting the prizes of 120 euros to each of the winning schools, Douglas thanked all the children for their “help” in protecting the Majorcan environment. “After having spent long periods on the island over the past 20 years, I've learnt to love the island, its culture and customs,” he said. He also praised the Insular Council for its help, while Munar paid tribute to Douglas as an actor and president of Costa Nord, for “teaching people about Majorca.” Douglas also used the event to unveil his latest project for 2003, “Landscapes of the Archduke.” The project will centre around an exhibition of the works and writing about the Tramuntana by the Austrian Archduke Luis Salvador. The Archduke fell in love with the north of Majorca at the turn of the century and did much to help protect its customs and cultures for future generations, he also designed, built and lived in the S'Estaca estate which Douglas bought 20 years ago. The Archduke's mistress Catalina still haunts the property. The Archduke managed to protect the Tramuntana for 100 years and Douglas has admitted he would like to ensure that the area is protected for the next 100 years, following in the footsteps of the Austrian aristocrat. The exhibition will focus on six aspects of the Archduke's life, each of which encaptured the Austrian.