Water Quality Day of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico’s sixteenth Water Quality Day will be on Saturday, April 13, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Training workshops are open. If you’ve already signed up your group, it’s time to take the training workshop and pick up your water quality kit. We have workshops and kit distribution events from April 1st to April 11th. Choose your date and register at: estuario.org/diadecalidaddeagua
Family Day at Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve
The family day at the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve is back! We will have games, an interpretive tour (with Contacto Verde hours), a Water Quality Day of Puerto RIco training workshop, and Cine del Estuario. See you there! See more information at: estuario.org/eventos
Cine del Estuario
Employment Opportunities
Accountant – The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership is seeking qualified applications for an Accountant to join our highly skilled team for projects receiving funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The ideal candidate performs a variety of tasks related to budget preparation and maintenance of grant budgets. In order to succeed in this position, the candidate must be organized and have excellent time management skills.
Senior Project Lead (Juan Méndez Creek Restoration) – The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership (Estuario) is seeking qualified applicants for the Senior Project Lead- Juan Méndez Creek position to lead project efforts in coordination with Estuario’s work and its team. This contractor will act as project liaison and will be responsible for leading the technical aspects of the project; carry out the reconnaissance study and develop the report, manage data, support coordination with USACE and carry out any other tasks needed to manage technical aspects for the Juan Mendez Creek Restoration.
Recruiting Services—Request for Proposal – The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership, or Estuario, requests proposals from qualified individual or firms to provide recruiting services for various open positions (contractor and staff).
Artistas Residentes del Estuario—Request for proposal – Los Artistas Residentes del Estuario generan expresiones artísticas con el objetivo de involucrar a los ciudadanos en el proceso de conservación y restauración de la cuenca estuarina, de una manera creativa y culturalmente relevante. A través del diálogo e intercambio de ideas sobre la restauración y conservación del ecosistema estuarino, los artistas residentes logran aumentar la conciencia ambiental y facilitar el desarrollo de una cuenca resiliente.
Ve más información en: estuario.org/empleos
Certification for Citizen Scientists
Below are the upcoming events. See more information at: estuario.org/ccc
March 25 – Field trip: water quality monitoring; with monitoring coordinator, Rebeca Rivera, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Las Curías and Río Piedras
March 26 – Field Trip: Water Quality Monitoring; with Rebeca Rivera, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the San Juan Bay
March 27 – Field Trip: Water Quality Monitoring; with Rebeca Rivera, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the San José Lagoon
March 28 – Field Trip: Water Quality Monitoring; with Rebeca Rivera, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Condado Lagoon
March 28 – Introduction to Coastal Resilience Workshop; with environmental educator, Coral Avilés, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom
April 5 – Field trip: seed collection; with arborist, Andreína Alexatos, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Piñones State Forest
April 6 – Field trip: planting coastal vegetation with Andreína Alexatos, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Shacks Beach, Isabela
April 11 – Field trip: coastal vegetation monitoring; with Andreína Alexatos, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Laguna del Condado
April 13 – Field trip: planting coastal vegetation with Andreína Alexatos, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Aguada
Educational Activities at the Condado Lagoon
Bring your school group to the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve! The San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership is offering educational activities at Jaime Benítez Park—from interpretive tours to workshops and other activities related to the topics of biodiversity, ecosystems, water quality, green infrastructure and coastal resilience.
Spaces are available Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., for groups of all levels (K-12), from public schools, private schools, or homeschoolers with a maximum of 30 participants per activity. These activities count towards Contacto Verde hours.
To coordinate, write to us at: [email protected]
Other activities
On Friday, March 1, 2024, Andreína Alexatos, Green Infrastructure Coordinator, and Agnes Pagán, Youth Coordinator, carried out a planting in Pocita de Piñones, with students from the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey campus. The students planted around 429 red mangrove seedlings and discussed mangroves as protectors of our coasts.
Then, on March 6, 2024, students from Robinson School planted red mangroves in the Condado Lagoon Natural Estuarine Reserve. They planted about 300 seedlings and received a talk about the importance of green infrastructure in the area. Both plantings were carried out as part of the coastal resilience module of Estuario’s Certification for Citizen Sientists. Thank you!
From February 12 to March 20, student Edhel Hernandez, from Touro University California, completed an internship at the San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership to support the educational component of the Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Project (IDDE Project). She did an excellent job with the support of Andrea Colón (Facilitator of the IDDE Project), Eliezer Nieves (Education and Participation Specialist), and Sahid Rosado (Education and Citizen Science Manager) creating a workshop and educational material on the identification and reporting of illicit discharges. Their contribution to the project efforts was invaluable in reaching the communities of the San Juan Bay Estuary basin.
We were also joined by students Elizabeth Peña and Erika Perez, from Touro University California, from February 12 to March 20. Both are master’s students in Public Health and Physician Assistant Studies. Peña and Pérez conducted a literature review on a rapid needs study, and created a method to conduct this study, taking the Juan Méndez creek as a case study. The focus of the methodology is aimed at understanding how residents are affected by sewage. They also presented recommendations for its implementation.
During their internship, the students received mentorship from Sofía Burgos and Delia Jiménez, Project Officers at Estuario, with the support of Jorge Bauzá, Scientific Director.
We thank these young people and Touro University for their great contribution to the San Juan Bay Estuary and its communities!
Support us with your tax refund
By making your individual contribution in 2024, support the San Juan Bay Estuary with the refund of your tax return. Look for the option “Contribution to the Special Fund for the San Juan Bay Estuary“, on line 1B of the “Refund” box. Read more, here.
