April 24, 2019 – San Juan, Puerto Rico – Every spring, islands throughout the Caribbean celebrate the birds that live only in this region. Puerto Rico joins this celebration through the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, organized by BirdsCaribbean. Moreover, this year's festival is dedicated to raising awareness about the problem of plastic pollution and its impact on birds. The theme of this year's Endemic Bird Festival is Protect the Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution.
The San Juan Bay Estuary Program (Estuary) joins this festival and invites Puerto Ricans to this celebration on the morning of Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the Piñones State Forest in Loíza. The event begins at 8:00 AM and ends at 12:00 PM.
“For 25 years, the Estuary has been promoting an action plan that includes aquatic waste management among its five priorities. Unfortunately, progress has been slow because this plan requires a change in consumption patterns across multiple sectors. We need education and the development of public policy that incentivizes its elimination and proper disposal. While we work toward this agreement, endemic and migratory bird species are being exposed to plastic ingestion, impacting their health and the health of our ecosystems,” said Brenda Torres Barreto, Executive Director of the Estuary.
“This year’s theme for the Endemic Bird Festival is a major global concern that affects us all, and we human beings are responsible for stopping this plastic pollution in bodies of water, which is causing so much harm to these species and to human beings,” added Torres Barreto.
The event offered by the Estuary includes activities such as birdwatching tours, mangrove tours, themed talks, games for children and youth, educational stations, and much more. Green Contact hours will be certified, and the Citizen Scientist Scout patch will be awarded to those units that wish to receive it and participate in the activities (donation of $5.00). It is important that participants register at the registration table as soon as they arrive for their Green Contact hours.
Puerto Rico has approximately 17 endemic bird species, unique to our island, and about 11 of them are found in the urban ecosystems of the estuary. These include the Puerto Rican Woodpecker, the Puerto Rican Tody, the Great Kiskadee, the Puerto Rican Oriole, and the Puerto Rican Warbler. Around 170 bird species, found nowhere else in the world, remain in the Caribbean year-round.
For more information and registration, you can visit the Facebook page: EstuarioSanJuan or the website www.estuario.org. You can also call the Estuary Center at (787) 725-8165.
The San Juan Bay Estuary Program (Estuary) joins this festival and invites Puerto Ricans to this celebration on the morning of Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the Piñones State Forest in Loíza. The event begins at 8:00 AM and ends at 12:00 PM.
“For 25 years, the Estuary has been promoting an action plan that includes aquatic waste management among its five priorities. Unfortunately, progress has been slow because this plan requires a change in consumption patterns across multiple sectors. We need education and the development of public policy that incentivizes its elimination and proper disposal. While we work toward this agreement, endemic and migratory bird species are being exposed to plastic ingestion, impacting their health and the health of our ecosystems,” said Brenda Torres Barreto, Executive Director of the Estuary.
“This year’s theme for the Endemic Bird Festival is a major global concern that affects us all, and we human beings are responsible for stopping this plastic pollution in bodies of water, which is causing so much harm to these species and to human beings,” added Torres Barreto.
The event offered by the Estuary includes activities such as birdwatching tours, mangrove tours, themed talks, games for children and youth, educational stations, and much more. Green Contact hours will be certified, and the Citizen Scientist Scout patch will be awarded to those units that wish to receive it and participate in the activities (donation of $5.00). It is important that participants register at the registration table as soon as they arrive for their Green Contact hours.
Puerto Rico has approximately 17 endemic bird species, unique to our island, and about 11 of them are found in the urban ecosystems of the estuary. These include the Puerto Rican Woodpecker, the Puerto Rican Tody, the Great Kiskadee, the Puerto Rican Oriole, and the Puerto Rican Warbler. Around 170 bird species, found nowhere else in the world, remain in the Caribbean year-round.
For more information and registration, you can visit the Facebook page: EstuarioSanJuan or the website www.estuario.org. You can also call the Estuary Center at (787) 725-8165.
