Estuario Weekly Update
A message from our Executive Director:
The beginning of March came with a lot of energy from our team; evaluating the water resource and alerting government sectors and communities about its condition, developing awareness, planting coastal vegetation, and adding actions by those who live, work and play in the San Juan metropolitan area.
On the other hand, we call on you to support our non-profit entity, from a donation or with part of your tax refund. There are multiple ways to contribute and be part of a project that will ensure a socially and economically vibrant region.
I take this opportunity to congratulate the geologist, Pedro Antonio Gelabert, for his most recent publication: Derrames de Petróleo: Por los buques cisterna Ocean Eagle y Zoe Colocotroni y su relación con las leyes ambientales.
Support the San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership with your Refund
This new filing season, we urge you to donate your refund to the actions to eliminate sanitary discharges to bodies of water loved by all, such as the Condado Lagoon and beaches. You will also support the restoration of the San Juan Bay, the canals that connect the lagoons of the San Juan metropolitan region, and management projects for this important ecosystem.
Look for the option “Contribution to the San Juan Bay Estuary Special Fund,” located in line 1B of the “Refund” box of your form.
This method is possible thanks to Act 48 of 2009, which establishes the Special Fund for the San Juan Bay Estuary.
Learn about the different methods available to donate to the San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership (SJBEP) in estuario.org/donar/.
Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico 2025
Registration is open! We will offer informative workshops for you to learn how to be part of the effort, but it’s as simple as creating your group, choosing a body of water and participating. This event will be on Saturday, April 5, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
During the Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico, you will evaluate the conditions of the body of water you have chosen. You will be able to obtain data from your observations and submit the results. You’ll be part of an active global citizen effort, as your results will be part of the EarthEcho Water Challenge. The SJBEP will provide the necessary materials, all free of charge. See more information, at estuario.org/diadecalidaddeagua.
We thank Ford and their effort to support entities like ours through Ford Environmental Donations.
Estuario 5K at Jardín Botánico
The first Estuario 5K will be on March 23, 2025, at 7:00 a.m. at the Botanical Garden of Río Piedras, San Juan! You will walk along trails, appreciating streams and lakes, and listening to the song of birds under the shade of native and centenary trees.
Registration includes a commemorative shirt, medal at the end of the 5K, runner number, chip to record the duration of your race, hydration, access to educational tables at the end of the race.
The Estuario 5K is carried out with the endorsement and close collaboration of the Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. We thank Aerostar, Ferraiouli and Paulson Puerto Rico for their support in achieving this first 5K.
Interpretive tour at Bosque Estatal de Piñones
Join us for an interpretive tour in one of the urban forests of the San Juan Bay Estuary watershed, on Saturday, March 15, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in the Piñones State Forest.
You will learn about the biodiversity of the forest, the ecological services it offers us and its natural connection with the waters of the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE). This activity counts towards Contacto Verde hours. Sign up today, at estuario.org/eventos.
Estuario Family Day
On Saturday, March 1st, we held the most recent Family Day in the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. This time we celebrated World Wildlife Day, focused on the ecosystem of the reserve.
Cleanup in the Reserve
As an activity of the Family Day, 26 volunteers joined us to a surface cleanup through three areas of the Reserve.
They removed 13 bags of waste from the lagoon’s shoreline, for a total of 222 pounds. The materials found included plastic bottles (109), clothing (112), food wrappers (79), plastic or foam pieces (102) and straws (109).
The family day also featured a talk and a trivia about wildlife and its importance, where 24 people participated. We closed the day with Cine del Estuario, where around 128 people attended the screening of the film Wicked, on the grounds of the Jaime Benítez Park.
We thank all the collaborators who made this day possible; to Yamileth Meléndez from Tiendita de Yami, for bringing and selling her food during the activity, to José Ramos, park administrator, for his help during the cleanup, to the municipal police of the Jaime Benítez Park, and to all the volunteers and those present. See you in the next one!
Estuario informative table at Caimito
During the Caimito Sabe a Cultura activity, on Friday, February 28, through our educational table, we shared information about the importance of the correct management of vegetable oil, as a conservation strategy for our water infrastructure. We brought our container, with which we contributed to the diversion of the oil used during the event. We thank the coordinators of Aquatic Waste projects of the SJBEP, Camila Rodríguez and Paul Lanctin, who worked the table during the activity.
Workshop for Puerto Rico’s Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan
On Tuesday, February 25, 2025, the SJBEP participated in the workshop for the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan of Puerto Rico, prepared by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER). The SJBEP attended this interactive workshop together with professionals from the solid waste industry, government and municipal officials, non-profit organizations and private companies, in support of the creation of this new Plan.
Know more about the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan of Puerto Rico and how you can contribute, here.
Bird censuses at Jardín Botánico
On February 25 and 26, students from the environmental sciences courses of the School of General Studies of the University of Puerto Rico participated in two bird censuses at the Río Piedras Botanical Garden. These censuses counted as field experience of the Participatory Bird Census module of the SJBEP’s certification for citizen scientists.
We thank Professor Melitza Nieves, from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, who integrated this module into her biological sciences courses to promote research and monitoring methodology in the natural spaces of the San Juan Bay Estuary watershed. Thanks also to educators Coral Avilés Santiago and Eliezer Nieves Rodríguez, who coordinated the activity.
Planting of coastal vegetation in the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve
As a field experience of the Coastal Resilience module of the SJBEP’s certification for citizen scientists, 32 students and teachers from the CeDIn Superior—Escuela Laboratorio de la Universidad Interamericana Recinto Metro, carried out a planting of coastal vegetation in the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve.
The citizen scientists applied their knowledge of mangrove ecosystems through the planting of around 803 red mangrove seedlings in the Playita San Gerónimo area. The activity was led by Professor Yamila Meléndez Rivera, together with the Coastal Resilience coordinators, Andreína Alexatos and Agnes Pagán.
Presentation at Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples de Puerto Rico
On the morning of Saturday, March 1, the SJBEP participated in the Encuentro Coop y Tercer Simposio de Ética de la Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples de Puerto Rico. Dr. Jorge Bauzá was part of an educational event on environmental issues, aimed at the owner cooperatives with sustainable development issues.
The theme of the SJBEP was: The San Juan Bay Estuary: an example of restoration, improvement and conservation of an urban tropical ecosystem, where your participation counts.
Dr. Bauzá gave an educational presentation on the restoration efforts of the SJBEP and how cooperative members can be incorporated as collaborators of these.
We thank Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples de Puerto Rico for the invitation!
Certification for Citizen Scientists
Below are the activities scheduled for the coming weeks. See more information at estuario.org/ccc.
Microplastics Characterization and Reduction Module
Workshop of the Characterization and Reduction of Microplastics module; Thursday, March 13, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. via Zoom
Weekly water quality monitoring
Evaluation carried out on Thursday, March 6, 2025. We have a RED flag for the Condado Lagoon. We recommend avoiding the regions that have exceeded the “Beach Action Value” water quality standard of 70 CFU/100 ML. Remember to avoid the water after precipitation events.
