Estuario Celebrates Earth Day

Every day is Earth Day!

The San Juan Bay Estuary Program celebrated 2022’s Earth Day with activities programmed with its staff and collaborators throughout the week of April 18-22. Here’s a summary of Estuario’s participation, in various events, with our collaborators.

Environmental Conference and Photographic Exhibition: Colectivo H2O

On Tuesday, April 19, Cristina Ramirez, Stakeholders and Aquatic Debris Coordinator at Estuario, was part of the environmental conference of Colectivo H2O, who also set a photographic exhibition with an environmental theme at Pública Espacio Cultural in Alto del Cabro, Santurce. CARICOOS and Sea Grant Puerto Rico also participated. We are grateful for the invitation from artists Manuel “gOnzo” González (@gonzolenz) and Salvi Colón.

Glass Reuse

On Wednesday, April 20, Cristina Ramírez, Public Policy Analyst, Laura Almodóvar, and Community Liaison Jesús Pérez, together with collaborators of the community campaign Que no toque el piso ni llegue al agua; transported over 10 glass crates—collected in past community fairs of Taller Comunidad La Goyco—to Bloque Caribe, where they were received to use as an additive in the construction of concrete blocks. We thank Desvidrio, Machuchal Limpio, Taller Comunidad La Goyco and Fundación Segarra for their support, collaboration and follow-up in this effort.

Water Quality Monitoring Day Briefing

On Thursday, April 21, as we approach the inauguration of the registration process for the 2022 Puerto Rico Water Quality Monitoring Day, Estuario held a citizen briefing at its Visitor Center in Old San Juan. Water Quality and Citizen Science Coordinator, Ivangs Rivera, guided the session. It covered the processes of water quality monitoring, event organization, and participant registration. The Water Quality Monitoring Day of Puerto Rico 2022 will be held on Saturday, August 27th – stay tuned to our social networks for registration information!

Citizen Scientist Certification Workshop: Introduction to Coastal Tropical Ecosystems

Also, on Wednesday, April 21, the Estuary held an introductory Citizen Scientist Certification workshop, covering the new thematic module: Coastal Resilience. The workshop was held by the new Coastal Resilience Coordinator, Juanita Carballeira.

PR Conserva Congress

Estuario’s Scientific Director, Jorge Bauzá, was part of the first day of the PR Conserva Congress, held in San Juan on April 21 and 22, organized by Para la Naturaleza. He spoke about the ecosystems of the San Juan Bay Estuary Watershed.

Informational Table at Balneario El Escambrón

On Thursday, April 22, Earth Day 2022, Estuario brought its informative table to the event “Actívate con el Planeta”, organized by the Municipality of San Juan at Balneario El Escambrón. There, we had the opportunity to educate the participants about all our efforts. Thanks to the Municipality for the invitation.

Conference with EcoExploratorio

On Thursday, April 22, Ivangs Rivera spoke about the San Juan Bay Estuary Program and its programmatic actions at the EXPO Digital Planet conference, held at the central atrium of Plaza Las Américas.

Special Feature: Cine del Estuario

On the evening of Earth Day, “Estuarinos” joined us for a special Cine del Estuario feature, at the Jaime Benítez Park in the Condado Lagoon Estuarine Reserve.

Participatory Bird Census

The week closed with a participatory bird census at the Rio Piedras Botanical Garden, facilitated by our education manager, Eliezer Nieves, and the education coordinator, Coral Avilés.

We thank all the citizens who accompanied us during this celebration! Also, to the Municipality of San Juan, H2O Collective, Eco Exploratorio and Para la Naturaleza, thank you for the opportunity to collaborate during this important week. Look for additional content shared through our networks, under the hashtags #EarthDay2022 and #InvestInOurPlanet. And remember: Every day is Earth Day!