Weekly Estuary Update
Estuarine greetings! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your families, friends, and loved ones. A new year is approaching, bringing with it new opportunities to continue restoring and protecting the ecosystems and communities of the San Juan Bay estuary. We are immensely grateful for your support during 2024 and look forward to continuing our collaboration in 2025. Happy New Year!
We are looking for collaborators for Water Quality Day
Puerto Rico's largest citizen science event is back!
Since 2009, Water Quality Day has united citizen scientists across the island to assess bodies of water and raise awareness about the importance of conserving our rivers, lakes, lagoons, and beaches.
In preparation for the upcoming Water Quality Day, the Estuary is recruiting volunteers to facilitate training workshops, distribute materials to participants, and conduct monitoring in public spaces. Join us as a volunteer! We will have an orientation meeting for collaborators on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
The seventeenth Water Quality Day will be on Saturday, April 5, 2025, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. General registration will open in March 2025.
Gratitude
During the 2024 Estuary Summit, held from December 2-4, we were served by TAIS, a Puerto Rican environmental action company that works with organic recycling and supports local, circular, and regenerative agriculture. TAIS contributed by diverting waste materials during the event, collecting 54 pounds of food, 21 pounds of compostable materials, and 30 pounds of mixed recyclables.
We thank our friends at TAIS for their willingness to provide material diversion services during the 2024 Estuary Summit. Thanks to them, we prevented 105 pounds of materials from reaching the landfill. See more information at: taispr.com.
Christmas Bird Censuses Gamaliel Pagán Hernández
On Saturday, December 14, 2024, a new season of Gamaliel Pagán Hernández Christmas bird censuses began, with the first census conducted in Old San Juan.
We were joined by volunteers, citizen scientists, and Scouts working toward their bird study merit badge. We thank Coral Avilés and Eliezer Nieves, who coordinated this event.
The Christmas bird censuses Gamaliel Pagán Hernández, part of the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird CountThey continue until Sunday, January 5, 2025. See more information at: estuary.org/eventsWe will soon publish the results of the censuses. Stay tuned for our weekly update!
Job opportunities
Weekly bacteriological monitoring
Evaluation conducted Thursday, December 26, 2024. We have a GREEN flag for County Lagoon. All stations tested below the Beach Action Value water quality parameter of 70 CFU/100 ML. Remember to avoid the water during rain events. Happy New Year!
