Estuario Weekly Update
April, Citizen Science Month, begins! This week, the San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership (SJBEP) shares opportunities to get involved in the Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico, participate in educational and community activities, and continue to contribute, little by little, to the restoration and management of the waters connected to the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE).
Support SJBEP with your Refund
This filing season, consider donating your income to conservation and management actions of the waters and ecosystems connected to the SJBE.
Look for the option “Contribution to the Special Fund for the San Juan Bay Estuary”, which you will find in the “Refund” box on page 1 of your form.
This method is possible thanks to Act 48 of 2009, which establishes the Special Fund for the San Juan Bay Estuary.
Learn about the different methods available to donate to the Estuary at: estuario.org/donar.
Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico
Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico, the largest participatory science event on the Island, is fast approaching!
In two weeks, on Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., you will join other citizen scientists in the archipelago to assess the water quality of rivers, streams, lagoons, reservoirs, and beaches near you, and collect data that contributes to a better understanding of the health of water bodies, using the monitoring kit provided by SJBEP.
If you haven’t signed up, the time is now. Create your group, choose your body of water and sign up today, at estuario.org/diadecalidaddeagua.
Take advantage of the open training workshop that we will be holding on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Facebook Live. This is a good opportunity to show your family and friends the process behind the Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico. Sign up here to be notified when we’re live. Share it!
Family Day at the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve
Celebrate the eighteenth Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico with us! Join the next Family Day at the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve, on Saturday, April 18, 2026, starting at 9:00 a.m. on the grounds of Jaime Benítez Park. We will have the following activities:
Water Quality Monitoring Educational Activity #1 (Contacto Verde/community service) [9:00 a.m.]
Water Quality Monitoring Educational Activity #2 (Contacto Verde/community service) [10:00 a.m.]
Sports Activity [2:30 p.m.]
San Juan Bay Estuary Talk (Contacto Verde/community service) [3:00 p.m.]
Botanical Tour: Useful Plants of the Condado Lagoon Nature Preserve and Their Importance in Water Quality ((Contacto Verde/community service) [3:30 p.m.]
Estuarine Educational Games (Contacto Verde/community service) [4:30 p.m.]
Educational Talk & Trivia: The Water Quality of the San Juan Bay Estuary (Contacto Verde/community service) [5:30 p.m.]
Don’t miss this special edition of the Estuario Family Day! Various activities will count toward accumulating Contacto Verde or community service hours, as applicable. No registration is required. If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at: [email protected].
Cine del Estuario
Cine del Estuario presents: A Minecraft Movie; on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at Jaime Benítez Park of the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. The film will be screened in Spanish, with English subtitles. This function is free of charge. No need to register. Bring your blanket or chair!
Earth Day
On Saturday, April 25th, we celebrate Earth Day!
In commemoration of this day, SJBEP has activities scheduled throughout the month, from training workshops and field experiences on water quality, aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, to interpretive tours and participatory science events.
See the calendar of activities, at: estuario.org/eventos.
Estuario 5K at Jardín Botánico
Join a race like no other, carried out entirely within the grounds of the botanical garden: Jardín Botánico de Río Piedras. We have an updated route, perfect for runners and walkers of all levels. You will walk along trails, appreciating streams and lakes, listening to the singing of birds and under the shade of centuries-old native trees. There will be a 1K segment for kids. The kids will have fun at their own pace!
The second edition of the Estuario 5K will be on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 7:00 a.m. at Jardín Botánico de Río Piedras, in San Juan
The Estuario 5K is carried out with the endorsement and close collaboration of Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.
We are looking for adult volunteers for the Estuario 5K
There are still spaces for adult volunteers (ages 18 and older) to support during the Estuario 5K race at Jardín Botánico, from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on May 17, 2026. The volunteers of the event will receive a T-shirt and will have reserved parking, in the DNER building, steps from the event. They will need to attend a virtual orientation meeting via Zoom, which we will announce later.
Sign up to volunteer for the Estuario 5K in estuario.org/eventos.
Professional Services Contract Opportunities
Actions for the reduction of aquatic waste
In the SJBE watershed.
An estuarine greeting to Margarita Marcial, Susana del Valle, Paola Monserrate, Sara Quiroga and Soleil Alvarado, who supported us last Friday, March 26, on the removing, identifying and characterizing microplastics from the surface of the Blasina Channel and Torrecilla Lagoon, as part of the Microplastics Characterization and Reduction module of the SJBEP Certification for Citizen Scientists. Thank you for contributing to this effort and getting involved in the restoration and conservation of our bodies of water.
Strengthening our coasts
On Friday, March 6, 23 participants, including students from the American Military Academy, took part in a field experience in the Condado Lagoon as part of the Coastal Resilience module of the SJBEP Certification for Citizen Scientists. As part of the field experience, they planted 27 coastal plants, including red mangrove, white mangrove and green buttonwood. They also collected some 988 red mangrove propagules for future restoration efforts.
The activity combined learning and action, integrating planting, staking replacement, and seed collection as key steps to strengthen our coastal ecosystems. Thank you to all the citizen scientists who participated. Every action adds to the good health of our coasts.
See more activities scheduled as part of the Coastal Resilience module, below.
Certification for Citizen Scientists
Below are the activities scheduled for the coming weeks. Remember that all workshops and field experiences count toward Contacto Verde or community service hours. See more information in estuario.org/ccc.
Water Quality Monitoring Module
Water Quality Monitoring Workshop: Bacteriological monitoring; Thursday, April 9, at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Field Experience: Bacteriological Monitoring; Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Water Quality Monitoring Workshop: Physical-chemical parameters; Thursday, April 16, at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Participatory Bird Census Module
Participatory Bird Census Workshop; Tuesday, April 7, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Field experience; on Friday, April 10, at 7:00 a.m. at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
Coastal Resilience Module
Field Experience: Seed Collection and Propagation; Saturday, April 11, at 8:00 a.m. in Piñones
Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs; Saturday, April 11, at 8:00 a.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs; Saturday, April 11, at 12:00 p.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Coastal Resilience Workshop: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs and Seagrasses; Tuesday, April 14, at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom
Field Experience: Seed Collection; Friday, April 17, at 8:00 a.m. in Hato Rey
Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Coral Reefs; Saturday, April 18, at 8:00 a.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Field Experience: Ecological Assessment of Seagrasses; Saturday, April 18, at 12:00 p.m. at the Condado Lagoon
Weekly water quality monitoring
Evaluation carried out on Thursday, April 2, 2026. We have a GREEN flag for the Condado Lagoon. We recommend, however, avoiding the areas that exceeded the “Beach Action Value” water quality parameter for 70 CFU/100 ML enterococci. Remember to avoid the water during rain events. Have a good weekend.
