Estuario Weekly Update

Greetings, estuarines! Through our weekly update, we inform about events, projects, activities and training opportunities to residents and friends of the communities of the San Juan Bay Estuary Watershed.

Certification for citizen scientists

Below are the scheduled workshops and field trips:

Coastal resilience module:

July 26 – Introductory Workshop: Coastal Resilience; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom
August 1 – elective workshop – Coral Reef Ecological Assessment; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom
August 2 – elective workshop – Ecological restoration of mangroves; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. by Zoom
August 8 – elective workshop – Ecological assessment of fish and aquatic communities; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom
August 15 – elective workshop – Ecological Assessment of Seagrass; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom
August 30 – Introductory Workshop: Coastal Resilience; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom

Participatory bird census module:

August 9 – elective workshop – Bird Censuses, an introduction to eBird; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom

Water Quality Module:

August 16 – Elective Workshop – Water Quality: Monitoring and Relevance; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom

Microplastics characterization and reduction module:

August 23 – elective workshop – From plastics to microplastics—public policy and its impacts; 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. by Zoom

For high school students grades 9 through 12, we have the following field trips scheduled (students can also participate in coastal resilience module workshops):

August 5 – field trip – mangrove monitoring [for high school students]; 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
August 6 – field trip – monitoring coral communities [for high school students]; 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
August 12 – Field trip – Ecological assessment of fish and aquatic communities [for high school students]; 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
August 19 – Field trip – Monitoring Seagrass Communities [for high school students]; 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
August 26 – Field trip – Monitoring of coral grass communities [for high school students]; 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

The locations of these field trips will be shared with those registered. To begin the enrollment process, please send an email to educació[email protected]. This must be done by a parent or guardian.

The sounds of the estuary

Last Saturday, July 15, we completed the first sound collection tour for Los sonidos del estuario, by our resident artist Armando Román, at the Santa Ana Environmental Center of the Julio Enrique Monagas National Park. An estuarine shoutout to those who accompanied us!

Los sonidos del estuario is a project of memory and sound documentation. Part of the creative process consists of three tours, where the everyday sounds of various localities located within the estuary and its watershed will be recorded. These recordings, and the experiences embodied in them, will be the basis of a sound map that will be part of the atlas of the Estuary. There are still spaces for the tours that will take place on July 23 and 27, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., in the Parque Central and the Piñones State Forest, respectively.

Family day at Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve

Estuario invites you to the next family day trip at the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve on Saturday, August 5, 2023, starting at 8:00 a.m. at the Jaime Benitez Park.

Confirm your attendance at https://estuario.org/eventos/ and receive additional information about the event. Remember to register to participate in the ethnobotany workshop.

We will have the following activities:

[8:00 a.m.] – Red mangrove monitoring – This event is reserved for a pre-registered group. Learn more about the events of the coastal resilience module for the certification of citizen scientists in estuario.org/ccc/.

[2:00 p.m.] – Ethnobotany workshop for tour guides [registration required] – if you want to learn about the usefulness of the plants found in Laguna del Condado, this is your activity. Come and share information about the use of flora in different societies. Sign up for https://estuario.org/eventos/.

[3:30 p.m.] – Basic classes and Olympic wrestling exhibition – do you know anything about Olympic wrestling? Coach Mabel Fonseca, along with the Huracanes team from Tras Talleres, will be instructing us. Come and enjoy with professional athletes.

[5:00 p.m.] – Inauguration of the Mural with conscience – join us at the inauguration of the Mural with conscience by resident artist Angélica Rivera. Come and appreciate the art and take the opportunity to ask questions.

[6:45 p.m.] – Prelude to Estuary Cinema – Learn about our educational campaign, “We live with the estuary.” This campaign seeks to raise awareness about the importance of conserving water bodies in the San Juan metropolitan area and how we can contribute to protecting them.

[7:00 p.m.] – Estuary Cinema presents Top Gun: Maverick – After the day trip, stay for the Estuary Cinema screening! This is free of charge.

Cine del Estuario

On Saturday, August 5, 2023, Cine del Estuario presents Top Gun: Maverick; at 7:00 p.m. in the Jaime Benítez Park of the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. As always, this feature is free of cost. Bring your blanket or chair!

#plasticfreejuly

We are celebrating a plastic-free July! The Estuary’s responsible solid waste management initiatives, Don’t Touch the Floor or Reach the Water and Leave a Clean Footprint in Pine Nuts, advise you on actions you can take to reduce your use of plastic. This week: use a reusable straw!

Learn what steps you can take to reduce your plastic footprint, as a citizen and as a business owner. Watch the recording of the informative workshop: Knowing Law 51-2022—Law for the prohibition of single-use plastics; held on Saturday, July 22, in https://estuario.org/desechos-acuaticos/.

Justicia hídrica

Estuario presents Justicia hídrica, a short documentary of the Community Water Network. Watch now, in estuario.org.

Successful completion of events for educators and interpreters

Estuario, in collaboration with BirdsCaribbean, offered this past week its professional training workshop for educators: La Chiriría and the conservation of wetlands, to a group of educators from the estuary basin. We appreciate your commitment to educating about our estuarine ecosystems and biodiversity!

We also thank Península de Cantera and COPI for being part of these efforts.

See photos of the event here.

Similarly, Estuario held its summer workshop for Interpreters, Water and Biodiversity: interpreting the estuarine ecosystems that connect us.

We thank the participants who accompanied us in this activity, and Ivangs Rivera and Cristina Ramírez, for being part of the estuarine interpreters in this professional training.

We also thank San Juan Paddle for the collaboration to this workshop and the kayak experience.

See photos of the event here.

Thanks to our education team, Coral Avilés and Eliezer Nieves, for conducting these professional training workshops.

Message from your Virtual Community Hub

Download our community hurricane preparedness guide today and use its recommendations during this hurricane season.

The strength and endurance of your community begins at home.

Stay informed!

Take advantage of our information platform, the Estuario Virtual Community Hub, where you will find vital information to prepare with your family and community.

To learn about risk mitigation strategies at Estuario and identify the risks, conditions and assets in your community, go to: https://estuario.org/mitigacion/

Weekly water quality monitoring

Evaluation conducted Thursday, July 20, 2023. We have a GREEN flag for the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. Some areas exceeded the Beach Action Value monitoring standard of 70 CFU/100 ML. We recommend avoiding these areas. Remember to avoid water during rain events.