Puerto Rico Water Quality Day
The sixteenth Puerto Rico Water Quality Day will be on Saturday, April 13, 2024, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am
Training workshops are now open. If you've already registered your group, it's time to attend the training workshop and pick up your water quality kit. We're holding workshops and distributing kits from April 1st to 11th. Choose your date and register at: estuary.org/waterqualityday
Family day out at the County Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve
The family day trip to the County Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve is back!
We'll have games, an interpretive tour (with Green Touch hours), a Puerto Rico Water Quality Day training workshop, and Estuary Cinema.
We look forward to seeing you! See more information at: estuary.org/events
Estuary Cinema
Estuary Cinema presents: Elemental ; Saturday, April 6, 2024, 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. As always, this screening is free. Bring your blanket or chair!
Job opportunities
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. The ideal candidate performs a variety of tasks related to budget preparation and maintenance of grant budgets. In order to succeed in this position, the candidate must be organized and have excellent time management skills.
Senior Project Lead (Juan Méndez Creek Restoration) – The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership (Estuario) is seeking qualified applicants for the Senior Project Lead- Juan Méndez Creek position to lead project efforts in coordination with Estuario's work and its team. This contractor will act as project liaison and will be responsible for leading the technical aspects of the project; carry out the reconnaissance study and develop the report, manage data, support coordination with USACE and carry out any other tasks needed to manage technical aspects for the Juan Mendez Creek Restoration.
Recruiting Services—Request for Proposal – The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership, or Estuary, requests proposals from qualified individuals or firms to provide recruiting services for various open positions (contractor and staff).
Estuary Resident Artists—Request for proposal – The Estuary Resident Artists create artistic expressions with the aim of engaging citizens in the conservation and restoration process of the estuary basin in a creative and culturally relevant way. Through dialogue and the exchange of ideas on the restoration and conservation of the estuarine ecosystem, the resident artists raise environmental awareness and facilitate the development of a resilient basin.
See more information at: estuary.org/jobs
Certification of scientific citizens
Below are the upcoming scheduled events. We add more activities regularly. See more information at: estuary.org/ccc
Water quality module:
March 25 – Field trip: water quality monitoring; with monitoring coordinator Rebeca Rivera, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm in Las Curías and Río Piedras
March 26 – Field trip: water quality monitoring; with Rebeca Rivera, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm in San Juan Bay
March 27 – Field trip: water quality monitoring; with Rebeca Rivera, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at Laguna San José
March 28 – Field trip: water quality monitoring; with Rebeca Rivera, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at Condado Lagoon
Microplastics characterization and reduction module:
March 30 – Field trip: microplastic characterization; with Cristina Ramírez, aquatic waste manager, from 7:30 am to 10:30 am, boat trip (meeting place will be announced by email)
March 19 – Field trip: ecological assessment of coral reefs; with the coastal resilience coordinator, Daritzel Cintrón, from 7:00 am to 10:00 am at El Escambrón Beach
March 23 – Field trip: planting coastal vegetation; with arborist Andreína Alexatos, from 8:30 am to 11:30 am in the Northeast Ecological Corridor, Luquillo
March 28 – Introduction to Coastal Resilience Workshop; with Coral Avilés, from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm via Zoom
March 31 – Field Trip: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs and Seagrasses; with Daritzel Cintrón, from 8:00 am to 11:00 am at the County Lagoon
Educational activities at the County Lagoon
Bring your school group to the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve! The Estuary is offering educational activities in Jaime Benítez Park, including interpretive tours, workshops, and other activities related to biodiversity, ecosystems, water quality, green infrastructure, and coastal resilience.
Spaces are available Monday through Friday, between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm, for groups of all levels (K-12), from public, private, or homeschool schools, with a maximum of 30 participants per activity. These activities count toward Green Contact hours.
To coordinate, write to us at: [email protected]
Other activities
Planting of coastal vegetation:
On Friday, March 1, 2024, the green infrastructure coordinator, Andreína Alexatos, and the youth participation coordinator, Agnes Pagán, led a planting activity at Pocita de Piñones with students from the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey campus. The students planted approximately 429 red mangrove seedlings and discussed the role of mangroves in protecting our coasts.
Then, on March 6, 2024, students from Robinson School planted red mangroves in the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Nature Reserve. They planted approximately 300 seedlings and received a presentation about the importance of the area's green infrastructure. Both plantings were part of the coastal resilience module of the Estuary's Citizen Scientist Certification program. Congratulations!
Students complete their internship at the Estuary:
From February 12 to March 20, Edhel Hernández, a student at Touro University in California, completed an internship in the San Juan Bay Estuary to support the educational component of the Illegal Discharge Monitoring and Correction Project (IDDE Project). He did excellent work with the support of Andrea Colón (IDDE Project facilitator), Eliezer Nieves (education and engagement specialist), and Sahid Rosado (education and citizen science manager), creating a workshop and educational materials on identifying and reporting illegal discharges. His contribution to the project's efforts was invaluable in reaching communities throughout the San Juan Bay Estuary watershed.
We were also joined by Elizabeth Peña and Erika Pérez, students from Touro University, California, from February 12 to March 20. Both are master's students in Public Health and Physician Assistant Studies. Peña and Pérez conducted a literature review on rapid needs assessments and developed a methodology for carrying out such assessments, using the Juan Méndez ravine as a case study. The methodology focuses on understanding how residents are affected by untreated wastewater. They also presented recommendations for its implementation.
During their internship, the students received mentorship from Sofía Burgos and Delia Jiménez, project officers of the Estuary, with the support of Jorge Bauzá, scientific director.
We thank these young people and Touro University for their great contribution to the San Juan Bay estuary and its communities.
Support us with your refund
When you make your individual contribution this 2024, support the Estuary with a tax refund. Look for the option “Contribution to the Special Fund for the San Juan Bay Estuary ” on line 1B of the “Refund” section . Read more here.
Weekly bacteriological monitoring
Assessment conducted on Thursday, March 21, 2024. We have a RED flag for County Lagoon. We recommend avoiding areas that exceeded the water quality standard for enterococci, "Beach Action Value," of 70 CFU/100 ML. Have a good weekend.
