Highlights for the week ending march 5th

The National Park Service’s Centennial

On February 28th, the AmeriCorps VISTA group of volunteers participated in the 12th annual Kite Festival at El Morro. This activity was part of the 100th National Park Service anniversary celebrations.

Interactive music concerts in the schools of Caño Martín Peña:

We facilitated four workshops/concerts, titled “Con Vivaldi y Handel en el Caño” (With Vivaldi and Handel in the [Martín Peña] Channel). These were conducted on March 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in elementary schools Sofía Rexach, Moisés Meléndez, Manuel Boada and Haydee Rexach, respectively. The concerts featured water-themed music, mainly excerpts from Vivaldi’s “The Seasons” and Handel’s “Water Music.” The musicians engaged the students in short conversations about the importance of keeping nearby bodies of water clean, how many entities are working toward cleaning their nearby channel, and how the wood and materials used to make their instruments came from nature. These workshops were possible thanks to a contribution and matching funds made by the Titín Foundation.

Climate change curricular lessons: On March 1rst and 2nd, our AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer Helen Angell and our Education Manager Javier Cardona, facilitated brand new climate change curricular lessons for public school students at Julián Blanco Specialize School in Ballet and Jesus Rivera Bultrón.

Second activity with the Guardians of the Estuary in Piñones:

On March 2nd, the AmeriCorps VISTA group of volunteers carried out the second Guardians of the Estuary activity for the Emiliano Figueroa Elementary School in Piñones. The group of 36 students and 6 parents had the opportunity to do water monitoring exercises and beach cleaning. Their initiative with the Emiliano Figueroa school is part of their project of identification of opportunities for economic growth based in the environment within the community of Piñones.

Water quality monitoring workshops

On March 2nd our Coordinator of Water Quality Volunteer Monitoring Program gave a water quality monitoring workshop at Manuel Elzaburu y Vizcarrondo School for a group of students between 4th and 5th grade. The school is localized in Sec. Cantera, San Juan, PR.

Book Donations

On March 1st our AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers, the historian Laura Horta and Diana Ferro, gave the first donation to the library of the Emiliano Figueroa Elementary School in Piñones, as part of the VISTA initiative to identify economic growth opportunities based in the environment.

Highlights for the week ending February 27th

CREARTE joins Estuary Guardians: Our Education Program started a collaboration with CREARTE to develop education activities within and outside the classroom to educate students and teacher regarding water quality and topics related to The San Juan Bay Estuary. Through Guardianes, CREARTE has adopted the Juan Mendez creek as the body of water that they will monitor. 

CREARTE students walk over the Juan Méndez creek, which they have pledged to defend as Guardians of the Estuary.

First activity with the Guardians of the Estuary in Piñones:

On february 24th the AmeriCorps VISTA group of volunteers, prepared the first Guardians of the Estuary activity from the Emiliano Figueroa Elementary School in Piñones. The activity in this school is part of the VISTA's ongoing efforts towards creating environment-based economic opportunities in the community of Piñones.

Workshop on Principles of Ethics for Research Involving Human Subjects and CIPSHI Procedures: On february 24th, our AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and historian Laura Horta went to the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus for a  training in research involving human subjects. This initiative is part of the interest in developing the skills of our volunteers and the importance in the San Juan Estuary Program to learn more about strategies for social research.

Water Quality Monitoring Program with Volunteers

For the week of February 23-25 the San Juan Bay Water Quality Monitoring Program with Volunteers (WQMPV) went to the field to visit 24 monitoring stations around the San Juan Bay estuary Watershed. A total of 14 volunteers joined the WQMPV coordinator and collect data of eight water quality parameters during the 4 day monitoring period. As part of a special biannual event, we collected water samples to be analyzed by a certified laboratory for the following parameters: Oil & grease, nutrients, fecal bacteria, BOD, Turbidity and chlorophyll.

Educational and environmental field trip by the Condado Lagoon: On February 27th our Education Manager, Javier Cardona, and our Coordinator of Water Quality Volunteer Monitoring Program, Harold Manrique, guided a group of students of the EcoExploratorio Museum of Science through the Condado Lagoon. The group of fifty students, learned more about the San Juan Estuary Program, the flora and fauna of the lagoon and the importance of environmental volunteer work. Also, the students had the opportunity to do water monitoring exercises.

Highlights for the week ending February 21st

Initiation of Guardians of the Estuary: On February 16th, the AmeriCorps VISTA group of volunteers formed a new group of Guardians of the Estuary from the Emiliano Figueroa elementary school in Piñones. The initiation of the new environmental group in this school is part of the VISTA's ongoing efforts towards creating environment-based economic opportunities in the community of Piñones.

Documentation of sanitary discharge identification process: Normally an obscured initiative, the San Juan Bay Estuary Project's communication team recorded a trip to the Blasina channel, where they joined the sanitary discharge identification crew and documented the process. The resulting report will be the first in an ongoing effort to highlight the very important work of this group. Here's the video report:

Re-inauguration of Luis Muñoz Marín Park: The San Juan Bay Estuary Program was invited to the re-opening ceremony hosted by the office of the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz. The park has channels that redirect rainwater to an 800-gallon tank, which is then repurposed for the park's bathrooms and irrigation. Also, the entire illumination system is solar-powered. Video report with english CC available:

Highlights for the week ending February 14th

Environmental justice: EPA Region 2's Environmental Justice Coordinator Christine Ash visited impacted communities within the San Juan Bay Estuary the 9th of February, as part of the Region's approach to helping communities in need of environmental restoration. We showed her the communities by the Martín Peña Channel and San José Lagoon, by car and by boat ride. A video report was made of the trip:

New volunteer group training: Wednesday February 2nd saw the training of a new group of volunteers for our monthly monitoring initiative, the first training offered in our new office in Old San Juan. A video report of that day:

Bird census in Old San Juan: Our AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers had their first bird census in the area of Old San Juan in February 11th. These censuses and birdwatching  workshops, are part of the VISTA group's ongoing initiative to create environment-based economic growth in our watershed's communities.

Buscamos voluntarios para hacer censo de peces en Laguna del Condado

Buscamos voluntarios que nos ayuden a hacer un censo de especies de peces en la Laguna del Condado, como parte de los esfuerzos por remover el pez león, una especie invasora que amenaza la biodiversidad del ecosistema. Si te gusta nadar y hacer snorkeling, esta oportunidad es para ti. 

Los voluntarios no van a remover peces león. Su contribución será tomar nota de todas las especies de peces que vean en la Reserva Estuarina de la Laguna de Condado, siguiendo el protocolo establecido por este proyecto. 

Tener datos  de las especies que habitan en lugares invadidos por el pez león  es crucial para identificar el impacto de esta especie en nuestro ecosistema.   

Las actividades del censo serán una vez al mes, hasta diciembre próximo, y no es necesario participar todos los meses.  Sí es requisito que los voluntarios participen en un taller teórico, que se llevará a cabo el sábado 20 de febrero, de 9 a.m. a 12 p.m.

Requisitos:   

• Saber nadar
• Tener destreza en hacer snorkeling
• Asistir al taller teórico introductorio del proyecto
• Tener disponibilidad para sábado en la mañana y/u otros días de la semana (las condiciones del mar nos indican cuándo podemos trabajar)
• Tener equipo básico de buceo  (máscara, tubo de respiración y aletas) No requiere tanque de oxígeno
• Ser mayor de edad
• Tener condición física para estar un mínimo de media hora en el agua sin necesidad de salir (máximo una hora)

Si reúne los requisitos para ser voluntario,  llene la solicitud aquí: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xM028uIT42Jzg3CJmT1QU5EBaJxnX4rxqdI9MdRhleA/viewform?usp=send_form

Estaremos evaluando las solicitudes y nos comunicaremos con los candidatos escogidos.    

SOLO ME INTERESA CONOCER SOBRE EL PEZ LEÓN:

Si estás interesado solamente en asistir a alguna charla que se ofrezca sobre el Pez León, entra a este enlace y  déjanos tu información: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LMebj_IvSXCMO_yMa7ftrInrG2Zz71m3BY9WmPkqXKk/viewform?usp=send_form

Our highlights for the week ending January 24th

University of Puerto Rico partners with the SJBEP to complete our estuarine oral history project:  The University of Puerto Rico’s School of Communication devoted a graduated course to the oral history project of our organization. In this course, offered by professor Mario Roche, the students conducted a series of in-depth interviews to community leaders of our watershed.  Dialogo newspaper is currently publishing a summarized version of the interviews, as follow:

Elena Resto Torres, from the Capetillo community:

ttp://dialogoupr.com/la-isla-del-diablo-un-sitio-como-cualquier-otro/

José “Chago” Santiago Reillo, from the Cantera community:

http://dialogoupr.com/jose-chago-santiago-para-nosotros-este-infierno-ha-sido-bueno/

Hideliza Román, Caimito community

http://dialogoupr.com/ya-este-no-es-mi-caimito-se-convirtio-en-lujo-para-los-ricos/

Rosa Hilda Ramos, Cataño community

http://dialogoupr.com/rosa-hilda-ramos-el-aire-de-catano-esta-limpio-no-da-cancer/

César A. Carrero, Condado community

http://dialogoupr.com/cesar-a-carrero-y-la-transformacion-del-condado/

Manuel Lulo Rivera, La Playita community

http://www.uprrp.edu/?p=7773

EPA releases the National Coastal Condition Assessment 2010 Final Report The National Coastal Condition Assessment 2010 Report finds that more than half of the nation's coastal and Great Lakes nearshore waters are rated good for biological and sediment quality, while about one-third are rated good for water quality. In almost all coastal waters, however, contaminants in fish tissue pose a threat to sensitive predator fish, birds, and wildlife. The National Coastal Condition Assessment is part of a series of National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) designed to advance the science of coastal monitoring and answer critical questions about the condition of waters in the United States. The report can be found at the following link:

http://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/ncca

Meeting with the DNER’s Secretary:  The SJBEP’s Executive Director and the Scientific Director of the entity met on Friday, January 22, 2016 with the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, Hon. Carmen Guerrero, to discuss several ongoing projects, with emphasis on the acquisition of land on riparian areas of the SJBE watershed.  This project is part of current year’s matching fund as part of our annual EPA grant.  

Our highlights for the week ending January 17th

Recycling efforts in San Sebastián Street Festival: During the four days of festivals, from January 14  to January 17, the San Juan Bay Estuary Program joined the Municipality of San Juan’s Puerto Rico Recycling Partnership and manned one of 20 recycling stations scattered throughout the island of Old San Juan.

New historian and communicator for our visitor’s center: The San Juan Bay Estuary Program welcomes historian Dr. Ruth García and communicator Lourdes Hernández to our team. They will be leading our historic documenting efforts for the communities of the Martín Peña Channel and other communities from the estuary area. In addition, García and Hernández will manage exhibits in our new visitor’s center in Old San Juan.

Clean-water efforts in Las Curías lake: Since October 2015, the San Juan Bay Estuary Program joined the association of residents of Las Curías and the Municpality of San Juan in planning ways of eradicating, without the use of pesticides, an outburst of giant salvinia threatening the Las Curías lake. The constant monitoring and reporting on enterococcus levels by the SJBEP have led a strong partnership with the Municipality of San Juan, who initiated in December 2015 and January 2016 the maintenance of septic tanks for the residents in an effort to improve the water quality of the lake.

Christmas bird census: On January 3, 2016 we conducted our yearly Christmas Bird Census,which was organized by our AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and Biologist Stephanie Camacho. The census took place simultaneously in three areas: the Luis Muñoz Rivera Park in northern San Juan, the community of Piñones in Loíza, and Las Curías in southern San Juan.