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Estuario Weekly Update

Greetings! Below, we share the events, initiatives, and training and collaboration opportunities programmed in benefit of the waters, ecosystems and communities connected to the San Juan Bay Estuary. 

Estuario 5K at Jardín Botánico

Join the first Estuario 5K, on March 23, 2025, at 7:00 a.m. at the Jardín Botánico of Río Piedras, San Juan. Walk along trails, appreciating streams and lakes, and listen to the singing of birds under the shade of native and centuries-old trees.

Register today, HERE. We have limited spaces.

Registration includes a commemorative shirt, a medal at the end of the 5K, runner number, a chip to record the duration of your race, hydration, and access to a farmer’s market and educational tables at the end of the race.

For an additional cost, you can get the opportunity to enter a raffle for the VIP Concert Experience of Bad Bunny’s No me quiero ir de aquí.

The Estuario 5K is possible with the endorsement and close collaboration of Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.

Save the date

The seventeenth Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico will be on Saturday, April 5, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Registration for the event opens in early March. Mark your calendar and follow our updates!

We are still recruiting collaborators to help with providing training workshops, distributing kits and establishing water quality monitoring stations for the public. If you would like to participate as a Water Quality Day collaborator, see more information here.

Family Day

On Saturday, February 1st, we had another Family Day. On this occasion, we celebrated World Wetlands Day with educational activities and raising awareness about the importance of our wetlands.

We started at 4:00 p.m. with an interpretive tour, where 72 participants learned basic concepts about wetlands, their importance, their biodiversity and the challenges they face on our island.

Then we had an educational talk titled: The wetlands of the estuary basin—65 people listened to the talk and also joined the following trivia.

Later we had our usual Cine del Estuario, where we presented the movie: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. About 48 people stayed to enjoy the feature under the starlight.

We thank the municipal police of the Jaime Benítez Park for their collaboration. We also thank José Ramos, administrator of the Park, Yamileth Meléndez, from Tiendita de Yami, for bringing the sale of food to the park, and to all the people who joined to collaborate, participate and share a pleasant time with their families.

See you again on Saturday, March 1st!

Learn about the project for the Economic Valuation of the San Juan Bay Estuary

If you live, work or play in the metropolitan region of San Juan, Puerto Rico, we invite you to learn about the Economic Valuation of the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE) project, on Friday, February 21, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. virtually, through Zoom.

Estuario and Metro Economica are conducting a comprehensive economic valuation of the ecosystem goods and services provided by the San Juan Bay Estuary. The results of the study will provide education to the public, government agency personnel, and elected officials about the importance of restoring and conserving this estuarine system.

Register today. Get your access link, here.

Recycling pop-up in Loíza

On Saturday, February 15, 2025, LimPiaR will have its next Recycling Pop-up, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Parque Miguel Fuentes Pinet, in Loíza.

Bring your plastics (#1, #2, #5), aluminum, brass, and corrugated cardboard. This collection event takes place on the third Saturday of each month. Take advantage!

Characterization of microplastics in the San José Lagoon

On Friday, January 31, we carried out our most recent Microplastic Characterization and Reduction module’s field experience for the Certification of Citizen Scientists, in Laguna San José and Laguna Torrecilla.

We thank Dianivette Rolón, Leonicha Cordero, Edgar Lozada and Elsa Ortiz, who joined us in classifying and documenting microplastics found at the surface of these bodies of water.

Annual Meeting of the Puerto Rico Recycling Partnership

On Friday, January 24th, we participated in the annual meeting of the Puerto Rico Recycling Partnership (PRRP). As part of the meeting, the coordinator of aquatic waste projects, Paul Lanctin, presented the efforts of the Intermunicipal Network for Integrated Management of Resources and Waste of the SJBE watershed.

The Intermunicipal Network for Integrated Management of Resources and Waste seeks to consolidate and structure the collaboration between the SJBE watershed’s municipalities. Its purpose is to eradicate aquatic waste from the region, through joint actions aimed at developing a comprehensive plan for the management of resources and waste.

We thank Ronalisse Esteban, recycling coordinator of the Municipality of Trujillo Alto, who shared her experience as a member of the Intermunicipal Network of Integrated Management of Resources and Waste. We are also grateful to the PRRP for the invitation and its continued work in the recycling industry.  

Certification for Citizen Scientists

Below are the events scheduled for the coming weeks. See more information at: estuario.org/ccc.

Coastal Resilience Module

Field Experience—Planting of coastal vegetation; Saturday, February 15, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Río Guajataca, Quebradillas [Contacto Verde/community service hours]

Register today, at: estuario.org/ccc.

Support Estuario with your refund

This new tax season, use your refund to donate towards the conservation and management actions of the ecosystems of the San Juan Bay Estuary.

Allies who want to contribute can do so through the total or partial donation of their refund, directly from their Individual Income Tax Return Form.

This method is possible thanks to Act 48 of 2009, which established the San Juan Bay Estuary Special Fund.

Look for the option “Contribution to the San Juan Bay Estuary Special Fund,” located in line 1B of the “Refund” box of your form.

Our restoration, conservation and management actions are possible thanks to the donations, collaboration and volunteering of residents, businesses, institutions, and friends of the interconnected bodies of water that make up the estuarine watershed. The San Juan Bay Estuary Program is a 501c3 non-profit corporation that designs, implements, and tracks restoration actions to improve the quality of bodies of water and associated ecosystems within the San Juan Bay Estuary system and its watershed.

See other means of donating to Estuario: estuario.org/donate/.

Weekly water quality monitoring

Evaluation carried out on Thursday, February 6, 2025. We have a GREEN flag for the Condado Lagoon. However, we recommend avoiding the areas that exceeded the Beach Action Value water quality parameter of 70 CFU/100 ML. Remember to avoid the water during rain events. 

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