Capetillo Hub

 

Overview:

Designated in 2015, the Capetillo Hub is led by the Urban Grove, Greenhouse, and Urban Forest of Capetillo (Huerto, Vivero y Bosque Urbano). In collaboration with the municipality of San Juan, the Hub has successfully eliminated illegal sewer connections, led anti-litter campaigns and community workshops, and has created a recycling drop-off station for the community. For its efforts, the Urban Grove, Greenhouse, and Urban Forest of Capetillo won the EPA Environmental Champion Award in 2016.

Hub Activities:

Watershed Education and Acquatic Trash Prevention:
– GREEN-PR Stewards from the Capetillo Hub created a large mural on the side of a grocery store to raise public awareness of the downstream impacts of littering. The mural illustrates how the Quebrada Juan Méndez, which runs through Capetillo, receives a large volume of litter entering from storm drains in the streets. The mural features local wildlife, including the bird, Ayaboa, and two types of fish found in the creek.
– The Hub developed signage depicting the hydrological basin of the Quebrada Juan Méndez to educate residents on how the watershed connects and how upstream pollution has downstream effects. GREEN-PR Stewards, in collaboration with the Municipality of San Juan and with support of SU-EFC staff, installed storm drain markers, indicating that the drains connect to bodies of water. They were installed throughout the streets Del Parque, Calle 12, and Padre Colón.
– The Hub worked with the Municipality of San Juan to establish a route for a street sweeper to pass regularly through Capetillo to prevent more pollution and litter from entering Quebrada Juan Méndez.
– In a collaborative effort with the San Juan Bay Estuary Program (SJBEP), signage was installed along Quebrada Juan Méndez tributaries to emphasize how youth in the Capetillo community are affected by litter.

Green Infrastructure Educational Signage:
– Educational signage on a rain water collection system was developed and installed at the Urban Grove, Greenhouse, and Urban Forest of Capetillo.

Recyclable Materials Drop-Off Center:
– The Hub coordinated with the Municipality of Capetillo to establish and manage a recycling drop-off station at the Orchard.

 

Stakeholders:

– Urban Grove, Greenhouse, and Urban Forest of Capetillo
– CAUCE
– Municipality of Capetillo
– GREEN-PR Stewards
– San Juan Bay Estuary Program (SJBEP)

 

Related Content:

Video Profile of the Urban Grove, Greenhouse, and Urban Forest of Capetillo:
Watch and learn how the collective engages the Capetillo community in stewardship and education in the short video, “The land that gives life to Capetillo” or “La tierra que da vida a Capetillo.”