Weekly Estuary Update
Greetings from the estuary! Below, we share opportunities for collaboration, volunteering, and training this week, through initiatives and actions planned to benefit the ecosystems of the San Juan Bay Estuary and its communities.
Family day out at the County Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve
Here comes another family day out!
On Saturday, June 1, 2024, starting at 9:00 am, we will have a professional development workshop for educators on the biodiversity of the Estuary's urban forests, a kayak tour, sports activities, a scavenger hunt (with Green Touch hours), a talk on endemic birds (with Green Touch hours), and Estuary Cinema. We will have more information in the next update.
Save the date!
Estuary Cinema
Following the family outing, Cine del Estuario presents: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at 7:00 pm in Jaime Benítez Park at the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve. The film will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles. As always, this screening is free. Bring your blanket or chair!
Call for Resident Artists of the Estuary
The Estuary is seeking proposals from artists to support the restoration work on the Juan Méndez ravine. See the call for proposals at estuario.org/empleos.
Learn more about the Estuary's Resident Artists at estuary.org/residentartists.
Job opportunities
Curriculum and Assessment Specialist – The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership is seeking to hire a Curriculum and Assessment Specialist to prepare the curriculum in Spanish for a Professional Certification on Participatory Bird Census and Characterization and Reduction of Microplastics Module.
Stakeholder and Engagement Manager – The Stakeholder and Engagement Manager assists the Executive Director and the Management Conference with engagement, educational, and outreach activities.
Accountant – The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership is seeking qualified applications for an Accountant to join our highly skilled team for projects receiving funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Economic Valuation Study – Request for Proposals – The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership is looking to engage a professional consultant(s) to conduct an economic valuation study to determine the current economic value of the natural resources and services in the San Juan Bay Estuary watershed.
Citizen Scientist Certification
Water Quality Module:
Coastal Resilience Module:
Kilometers of change
This Friday, we're running with Kilometers of Change!
The San Juan Bay Estuary is an ally of this relay race across the entire island, benefiting women victims of gender violence.
Estuary Executive Director Brenda Torres will run Leg #7 from Quebradillas to Aguadilla (13.55 miles) on May 17, 2024.
Leg #7 will be captained by Olympic triathlete Melissa Ríos.
We understand that the state of our environment reflects our quality of life and that, to achieve environmental justice, resilience, or access to clean water, it is necessary to eradicate violence from our communities. Learn more about Kilometers of Change here.
Educational effort on the handling of oils and fats
On Thursday, May 9 and Friday, May 10, 2024, we visited about 50 businesses in the Loíza street area, in Santurce, to talk to and guide them on the proper handling and disposal of used cooking oils and fats.
In addition to the proper handling of oils and greases, the literature touches on topics such as regulatory agency inspection processes, legal bases, and the environmental benefits of implementing good practices.
We thank the staff of the businesses visited for their positive reception of this effort!
This effort is made possible through the collaboration of the Estuary, the San Juan Municipality's Office of Environmental Planning and Compliance, and the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority's Oil and Grease Control Program. It is part of the community campaign, " Don't Let It Touch the Floor or Reach the Water ."
Educating our communities about resource and waste management
Last Friday, May 10th, four students began an educational and awareness internship with the Estuary on resource and waste management. For the next 10 weeks, these young people will support the Estuary's educational efforts related to resource and waste management in the watershed, particularly regarding oil and grease management. This effort will be coordinated with the Intermunicipal Network for Integrated Resource and Waste Management in the watershed. We wish them a productive and enriching internship. Good luck!
Water Quality Day in numbers
On Saturday, April 13, the sixteenth Puerto Rico Water Quality Day was held.
More than 1,000 people participated at approximately 200 monitoring stations across the island. View the collected monitoring data on the event website.
We thank the sponsors of the sixteenth Puerto Rico Water Quality Day: Region 2 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency , EarthEcho, Ford Environmental Donations of Puerto Rico, MAPFRE and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
We also thank the following for their collaboration: Surfrider Rincón, the Community Water Network, Ponce Health Sciences University, the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Fajardo Campus, the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, EcoExploratorio of the Puerto Rico Science Museum, BoriCorps in Salinas, AmeriCorps, the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan , and the Homeschoolers groups of Guayanilla and Morovis.
Thanks also to the more than one thousand people who, through this event, demonstrated the importance of evaluating and protecting our water bodies. See you next year!
Other activities
Planting of coastal vegetation:
On Saturday, April 27, 2024, we carried out a planting of coastal vegetation at Playita San Gerónimo in the Condado Lagoon, as part of the Coastal Resilience Module of the Estuary Citizen Scientist Certification.
Sixteen citizen scientists planted some 187 specimens of various types of coastal vegetation, together with the coordinators, Agnes Pagán and Andreína Alexatos.
They also took time to discuss the importance of incorporating green infrastructure as a method to strengthen our coastlines.
Then, on Saturday, May 4, 30 participants joined Andreína Alexatos in planting approximately 311 red, white, and black mangrove seedlings on Jobos Beach, Isabela Island. This planting was carried out in collaboration with the Surfrider Foundation.
For more coastal reforestation opportunities, look for scheduled events as part of the Coastal Resilience Module of the Estuary Citizen Scientist Certification at: estuary.org/ccc.
Weekly bacteriological monitoring
Assessment conducted on Thursday, May 16, 2024. We have a GREEN flag for County Lagoon. However, some stations exceeded the water quality standard for enterococci “Beach Action Value” of 70 CFU/100 ML—we recommend avoiding these areas. Have a good weekend.
