Estuario Weekly Update
This week, the San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership (SJBEP) invites you to be an active part of the restoration and management of the waters connected to the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE), from supporting with your tax refund to joining the Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico. We also bring you opportunities to connect in community, take care of our resources, and strengthen our coasts. Explore the activities available and join us in building a healthier SJBE for all.
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 Law 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.
Register to the eighteenth Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico
Register today to the Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico, the largest participatory science event on the Island!
For the eighteenth year in a row, you’ll monitor the water quality of rivers, streams, lagoons, reservoirs, and beaches near you. You will learn how to use the monitoring kit provided by SJBEP and collect data that contributes to a better understanding of the health of water bodies.
Create your group, choose your body of water and sign up, at estuario.org/diadecalidaddeagua. monitoring kits are limited, so we recommend signing up as soon as possible.
Already registered for the eighteenth Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico?
Join one of our virtual instructional workshops, where you will learn how to use the water quality monitoring kit (provided by SJBEP) and how to correctly record the data you’ll collect that day.
See more information at: https://estuario.org/eventos
Estuario 5K at Jardín Botánico
The Estuario 5K is back! 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 boys will have fun at their own pace!
The second edition of the Estuary 5K will be on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 7:00 a.m. at the Jardín Botánico de Río Piedras, in San Juan
The 5K of the Estuary is carried out with the endorsement and close collaboration of Jardín Botánico d la Universidad de Puerto Rico.
We are looking for adult volunteers for the Estuario 5K
There are spaces left for adult volunteers (ages 18 and older) to support during the Estuario 5K at Jardín Botánico race, 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.
Friends of the Lagoon Meeting
Join the community action for the restoration and management of the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. The next meeting for Amigos de la Laguna will be on Wednesday, March 23, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at the Jaime Benítez Park.
Everyone is invited. The meeting will be hybrid, with virtual space by Zoom.
Receive your access link, HERE.
Actions for the reduction of aquatic waste
Within the SJBE watershed.
Recycling Pop-up at Loíza
On Saturday, March 21, 2026, the Recycling Pop-Up in Loíza returns, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Miguel Fuentes Pinet Stadium. Accepted items are plastics #1, #2 and #5, your aluminum, brass and corrugated cardboard. This event takes place on the third Saturday of each month, and is organized by LimPiaR, the Municipality of Loíza and Tais.
SJBEP will be present with its educational table, where you will learn about actions for the reduction of waste in the waters connected to the SJBE, such as the community campaign with LimPiaR, Deja una huella limpia en Piñones, and the Municipality of Loíza’s used vegetable oil diversion program. Hope to see you there!
Professional Services Contract Opportunities
Assessing the biodiversity of the SJBE
On Sunday, March 8, about 20 volunteers explored the ecosystems of Parque Central de San Juan and documented the diversity of birds that use these natural spaces, as a Certification for Citizen Scientists’ Participatory Bird Census module field experience.
We thank all the volunteers who joined us, particularly the group of students from the UPR of Río Piedras’ Biological Sciences course with Prof. Melitza Nieves, who completed their certification with this experience. Congratulations!
See more workshops and field experiences for the SJBEP Certification for Citizen Scientists, below.
Actions for Coastal Resilience
In the past weeks, citizen scientists participated in Coastal Resilience field experiences that connected the essential work done at nurseries with the direct restoration of our coasts.
On Saturday, February 28, ten volunteers collaborated in the maintenance of the nursery Vivero Estuario, at Centro TAU in Loíza. The experience included the transplantation of white mangrove and green buttonwood seedlings, seed propagation, plant counting and characterization, and cleaning and weeding work. This experience allowed the participants to learn first-hand about the processes that sustain ecological restoration projects.
On Monday, March 2, 22 students from the American Military Academy, along with their teacher, Jacqueline Lopez, participated in a planting at the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. There, they planted around 208 seedlings of red mangrove, white mangrove, black mangrove and green buttonwood, reinforcing areas affected by erosion and replacing deteriorating vegetation.
Both experiences integrated education, action, and teamwork, demonstrating that coastal resilience is built step by step. Thank you, all the volunteers who joined us!
See more activities for the Certification for Citizen Scientists’ Coastal Resilience module, up next.
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
Field Experience: Physical-Chemical Monitoring; Monday, March 23, at 8:30 a.m. at Lago Las Curías and Río Piedras
Field Experience: Physical-chemical monitoring; Tuesday, March 24, at 9:00 a.m. at the San Juan Bay
Field Experience: Physical-chemical monitoring; Wednesday, March 25, at 8:00 a.m. at Laguna San José/Torrecilla
Participatory Bird Census Module
Field experience; Saturday, March 28, at 7:00 a.m. in Old San Juan
Microplastics Characterization and Reduction Module
Field experience; Friday, March 27, at 9:00 a.m. at Laguna San José/Torrecilla
Coastal Resilience Module
Field Experience: Plant Propagation and Maintenance; on Friday, March 27, at 8:00 a.m. at Vivero Estuario, Loíza
Weekly water quality monitoring
Thanks to the volunteers who supported the bacteriological monitoring on Thursday, March 19, 2026, as part of the SJBEP Certification for Citizen Scientists’ Water Quality Monitoring module. See the results below.
Evaluation conducted on Thursday, March 19, 2026. We have a GREEN flag for the Condado Lagoon. However, we recommend avoiding the areas that exceeded the “Beach Action Value” water quality parameter for enterococci of 70 CFU/100 mL. Remember to avoid the water during rain events. Have a good weekend.
