Weekly Estuary Update
Estuarine greetings! As always, we're sharing with you the activities, collaborations, and opportunities that strengthen our mission to conserve our waterways and the well-being of our communities. Thank you for staying connected and being part of this collective effort.
Family day out
Join us for the next family day out at the Estuary, on Saturday, July 5, 2025, at the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve, celebrating a plastic-free summer on the grounds of Jaime Benítez Park. We will have the following activities:
Installation of "No Fishing" signs in the Lagoon: Let's take care of the Estuarine Nature Reserve of the County Lagoon (Green Contact/community service); at 1:00 pm
Educational talk: Impact of tissue loss disease on hard corals (Green Contact/community service); at 3:00 pm
Underwater tour: Discovering urban reefs (Green Contact/community service); at 4:30 pm This activity has a limited capacity of 12 participants and requires separate registration.
Interpretive tour: The plants of the Laguna del Condado Estuarine Nature Reserve and their connection with water (Green Contact/community service); also at 4:30 pm
Educational talk: Law 51-2022—Law to prohibit the sale and use of single-use plastics (Green Contact/community service); at 5:30 pm
Come with your family and friends! All activities are free. Registration is not required (except for the Underwater Tour, which has a limit of 12 people and requires registration). The Family Day Out at the Estuary takes place on the first Saturday of each month.
Estuary Cinema
Estuary Cinema presents: Inside Out 2; Saturday, July 5, 2025, at 7:00 pm at Jaime Benítez Park in the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve. The film will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles. This screening is free. Estuary Cinema is presented on the first Saturday of each month.
Save the date: County Lagoon cleanup
On Saturday, July 12, 2025, at 3:00 pm, the Estuary will be present at the event: A different sunset in the Estuarine Nature Reserve of the County Lagoon; led by the group Plastic Free.
As part of the event, a cleanup will be carried out in the area of the Baldorioty Monument, south of the County Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve.
Save the date! We'll share registration details soon.
Workshop for educators
The Estuary invites educators from public schools, private schools, or homeschoolers of all levels to the workshop: Water + trees to conserve our estuarine ecosystems; On Friday, July 11, 2025, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at Jaime Benítez Park in the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve, we will discuss the connection between water and trees and the ecosystems of the San Juan Bay Estuary watershed.
The first part of this workshop will be a review of basic concepts about flora and water quality. The second part will be a botanical tour where we will learn about the identification of some tree species and their relationship to water quality.
Register today at estuary.org/events.
Urban tour in Capetillo
Join us on the urban tour: Discovering the connections between the city's water and the estuary's water; Saturday, July 12, 2025, from 8:00 am to 10:00 am in Capetillo, Río Piedras.
This activity counts toward Green Touch/community service hours. Register today at estuary.org/events.
Characterization of microplastics
On Friday, June 27, 2025, the most recent field experience for the Microplastic Characterization and Reduction module of the Estuary Citizen Scientist Certification program was conducted. We thank Carmen de Jesús, Christopher Orozco, Nidia Matos, and Louisa Witting for their participation.
Estuary Citizen Scientist Certification
Below are the activities scheduled for the coming weeks. See more information at estuary.org/cccThese activities count towards community service hours and Green Contact hours.
Water Quality Monitoring Module
Water Quality Monitoring Workshop: Bacteriological Monitoring; on Monday, July 7th, at 7:00 pm via Zoom
Water Quality Monitoring Field Experience: Bacteriological Monitoring; Thursday, July 10, at 9:30 am at County Lagoon
Water Quality Monitoring Workshop: Physical-Chemical Parameters; on Thursday, July 10, at 7:00 pm via Zoom
Water Quality Monitoring Field Experience: Physical-Chemical Parameters; Monday, July 14, at 8:00 am at Lake Las Curías and Río Piedras
Water Quality Monitoring Field Experience: Physical-Chemical Parameters; Tuesday, July 15, at 9:00 am in San Juan Bay
Water Quality Monitoring Field Experience: Physical-Chemical Parameters; Wednesday, July 16, at Laguna San José
Water Quality Monitoring Field Experience: Bacteriological Monitoring; Thursday, July 17, at 9:30 am at County Lagoon
Microplastics Characterization and Reduction Module
Microplastics Characterization and Reduction Workshop; on Thursday, July 17, at 7:00 pm via Zoom
Coastal Resilience Module
Coastal Resilience Workshop: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs and Seagrasses; on Tuesday, July 8th, at 7:00 pm via Zoom
Coastal Resilience Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs; Saturday, July 12, at 8:00 am at County Lagoon
Coastal Resilience Field Experience: Planting Coastal Vegetation; Saturday, July 12, at 8:00 am at County Lagoon
Coastal Resilience Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Seagrasses; Saturday, July 12, at 12:00 pm at County Lagoon
Prepare yourself this hurricane season
Get ready for this hurricane season. Download the Community Hurricane Preparedness Guide of the Estuary and follow its recommendations. The strength and resilience of your community begins in your home.
Also visit the Virtual Estuary Community Centerwhere you will find vital information, such as relevant emergency numbers and instructions for preparing emergency backpacks.
Don't panic! Get ready.
Weekly bacteriological monitoring
We appreciate the environmental commitment of the citizen scientists who completed this week's assessment, led by coordinator Rebeca Rivera. Here are the results.
Assessment conducted on Thursday, July 3, 2025. We have a GREEN flag for County Lagoon. We recommend avoiding areas that exceeded the "Beach Action Value" water quality parameter for enterococci of 70 CFU/100 ML. Remember to avoid the water during rain events.
