Estuary Update!
Greetings to our volunteers, collaborators, followers, and the entire estuary community. We hope you are all well as you receive this email. We are sharing these initiatives and actions carried out week after week. These activities, tips, and information are for the benefit of everyone.
Invitation: Sustainability Merit Badge for Scouts throughout Puerto Rico
The Estuary, in collaboration with the Guaitiao District, invites all Scouts of Puerto Rico to the Sustainability Merit Badge Workshop. This workshop is free of charge. Scouts who register must be authorized by their Scoutmaster.
The workshop will be offered in two sessions via Zoom, on Saturdays, November 7th and 14th, 2020, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Following the two virtual sessions, an individual session will be scheduled with each unit for a final discussion and evaluation, thus completing the merit badge.
For more information, you can contact Agustín “Tino” Guadalupe Castro, District Training Chairman, at [email protected] or 787-518-0079. You can also contact Eliezer Nieves or Coral Avilés at [email protected].
You can register HERE.
Quebrada Josefina is recovering!
As part of the efforts undertaken by the Estuary through its Monitoring and Compliance Project , and under the direction of Dr. Gustavo Martínez, a highly successful strategy for detecting and correcting illegal discharges has been developed. The most recent example of this is the Josefina Creek. This waterway flows through highly urbanized areas of the Gobernador Piñero and Monacillo Urbano neighborhoods in the Municipality of San Juan. The Josefina Creek was critically impacted by a series of human activities, including sewage discharges. The accurate identification of these discharges and their correction allowed for an improvement from a critical classification to a moderate to good classification (dissolved phosphorus levels from 0.917 mg/L to 0.119 mg/L). While work remains to be done, this is an important milestone in the restoration of water bodies and in the Estuary's mission to improve the quality of life and make our watershed more resilient and sustainable.
Weekly water quality monitoring
We present the results of the weekly water quality monitoring, carried out on Thursday, October 29, 2020. Published every Friday at 3 PM on our Facebook page.
Participatory mapping workshop with Friends of the Lagoon
Last Monday, October 26, 2020, we held the most recent Friends of Condado Lagoon meeting. As part of this meeting, citizens, concessionaires, and San Juan City staff joined the Estuary team, utilizing participatory mapping tools to identify new areas in need of reforestation.
We appreciate everyone's participation.
"It shouldn't touch the floor or reach the water."
As part of an initiative to improve solid waste management on Loíza Street, with the support of Machuchal Limpio and the La Goyco Community Workshop, we collected water samples from the storm sewer system on Thursday, October 29. One of the objectives of this project is to reduce the pollutants that reach these sewers, which include solid waste (garbage) and liquid waste (oils and grease).
We urge everyone to reduce solid waste and reuse and recycle materials, such as used cooking oil. We invite you to conserve, adopt, and protect this water management infrastructure, as well as the bodies of water to which it connects.
Migratory birds and our urban forests
Migratory birds arriving in Puerto Rico during October find refuge in our urban forests. These birds serve as bioindicators of the health of our green spaces. The Estuary shares ways you can help keep these areas habitable for them. Observe and learn about the birds and conserve the spaces where they live.
The Estuary participates in the public hearing of the CDBG-MIT funds
Last Wednesday, October 28, 2020, the Estuary participated in the fifth public hearing for the management of CDBG-MIT Mitigation funds by the Puerto Rico Department of Housing. The Department of Housing will be sharing the public statements submitted by stakeholders from across the island, outlining their ideas for utilizing the $8.3 billion granted by HUD.
Listen to the presentation by the Estuary's Executive Director, Brenda Torres Barreto, given at the public hearing, HERE.
The Estuary wishes you a great weekend!
Tune in to our social media channels, where we share information, including various virtual activities that will contribute to your personal and professional development. For any questions, please contact us at [email protected ]
The Estuary wishes you a good weekend. We encourage you to stay connected with us through our social media channels.
