Aquatic Art Exhibit Opens

en español

The Rincon of the Seas Hotel lobby came alive with 39 colorful aquatic paintings during the student art opening on June 25, 2009. The talented artists, all junior high school and high school students from Rincon, brought their friends and family that evening to enjoy the unique art, appetizers, the "Porta Coeli Jazz" band, and the launching of a coral reef lesson book created with their art.

The bright canvases are hung along the hotel lobby's walls beautifying it and giving a positive environmental message to the community. All the students in the exhibit had attended two all-day workshops on coral reef lessons, ocean conservation, and painting in March. The ocean-themed paintings they produced during the workshops were weaved into a coral reef lesson book which was handed out at the exhibit to all who attended.

This project sponsored by Surfrider Foundation and NOAA's Marine Debris Program is the educational component of the ambitious community driven program "Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal at Reserva Marina Tres Palmas," where more than 475 tires have been removed in the last 2 years, among other debris.

If you haven't seen the show it will be up until July 9. You can pick up a copy of the book at the hotel front desk.

Everyone enjoyed the wonderful live jazz provided by "Porta Coeli Jazz" from San German, we thank them. Many thanks to Rincon of the Seas who sponsored the exhibit and the appetizers. Special thanks to Arnaldo Ruiz, Lizandra Ayala, Victor, and front desk staff at the hotel. Thanks to everyone who participated and helped make this happen, specially the students and their family. Thanks to Leon and Ali Richter for handling the book printing efforts.

If you are a business owner, teacher, or school and want copies of the book (while supplies last) to hand out contact us at 787 823 2784.

AB

Aquatic Art Workshop was a Success!

en español

Everyone had a great time and had an opportunity to show off their artistic talents during the art workshop

Thirty-nine vibrant paintings were completed on the second day of the Aquatic Art workshop offered March 28 at the Jorge Seda Crespo Middle School in Rincón. The young painters also worked on 2 collective canvases and on a giant 70" x 30" coral reef drawing designed by Wess Merten.

At the moment we are creating an "Aquatic Art" coral reef lesson book illustrated with the 39 student paintings done in both workshops. The book will soon be going off to the printer to later be handed out to the students on June 25th (from 7-9 pm) when we will inaugurate the awaited "Aquatic Art" exhibit at the Rincón of the Seas Hotel. We'll keep you informed...

This project sponsored by NOAA's Marine Debris Program is the educational component of the ambitious community driven program "Coral Reef Protection through Marine Debris Removal at Reserva Marina Tres Palmas", where more than 475 tires have been removed, among other debris.

Many thanks to: Nicole Hoover, Wess Merten, Patchouly Banks, Oliver Bencosme, photography by Producciones Burracas, Cuqui González, Alex Henriques, Miriam Pérez, Miriam Juan, Leon Richter, Allison Jones, Freyda Zell, Bermie Ruiz

- AB

Reef Restoration in San Juan Puerto Rico

The San Juan Bay Estuary Program finished placing artificial reef structures earlier this month as part of an environmental-restoration initiative. The $138,000 restoration project consists of placing cement reef-replication modules (known as Taíno reefs) to replace coral-reef habitat lost as a result of the 1994 grounding of the barge Morris J. Berman, which spilled approximately 925,000 gallons of oil into the waters and beaches of San Juan. “The artificial reefs serve as a magnet to submarine life. Later, we will manually add natural coral reefs to further populate the area,” said San Juan Bay Estuary Program Executive Director Javier Laureano. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service and the local Department of Natural & Environmental Resources are the natural resource trustees in charge of restoring the balance of the injured ecosystem. In 2000, the parties reached an agreement to undertake three restoration projects, one of which was coral reefs. A Taíno Reef in San Juan “Tourists and citizens alike will be able to enjoy the coral reef landscape. We have set up an educative exhibition at Condado Beach. With a trail map and basic snorkeling equipment, visitors can enjoy the scenery in the Condado Lagoon. On the other hand, to take a look in Escambrón Beach, visitors need more experience as it is deeper and requires scuba-diving equipment,” Laureano said. For more information, check out the Berman Restoration Projects Annual Report