With the mission to inspire, educate, entertain, and foster a love for environmental conservation among the children of the Puerto Rican archipelago through reading, and under the protective shade of the trees at the Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve (CSJ) in Fajardo, the first Biblio-rincón of Para la Naturaleza was inaugurated on Saturday, May 11th. This initiative is a collaboration between Lee Conmigo and the Flamboyán Foundation. The event featured dances, exercises, educational and artistic activities, and a new tour focused on children through the garden of this natural space.
Reinforcing the organization’s commitment to education and communities, this first Biblio-rincón consists of a wooden shelf with front-facing book compartments to ensure that children have direct contact with literature, a puppet theater, and an area to store cushions and blankets so families can sit comfortably and connect with nature.
The installation boasts a collection of 59 children’s books, mostly by Puerto Rican authors, and it is expected that, starting this summer, visitor centers in other regions of the organization will also feature their own Biblio-rincón. The day couldn’t have been more perfect for the inauguration, as families arrived under the spring sun, with little ones running towards the captivating bookshelf, a gateway to learning and new worlds to discover.
With the support of Lee Conmigo and the Flamboyán Foundation, Para la Naturaleza inaugurated its first Biblio-rincón at the Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve in Fajardo.
Awakening the love for learning
As part of the inaugural events, the president of Para la Naturaleza, Lcdo. Fernando Lloveras San Miguel, thanked the Flamboyán Foundation for sponsoring the project and Lee Conmigo for its design, execution, and implementation. The organization’s leader expressed that, as a father, one of the most important satisfactions he has experienced is awakening the love for learning in his children. “Once a child loves to learn, much of the work is done. This project is aimed at that: continuing to foster that love for learning and knowledge,” shared Lloveras San Miguel, reflecting on the project’s seeds.
“We started with our educational and interpretive tours 54 years ago, and here at this Nature Reserve (CSJ), one of our main educational programs was born, the Nature Immersion Workshops for children and youth,” the president recalled.
Since 1994, the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico (FCPR) and, since 2013, with its unit Para la Naturaleza, have initiated these workshops aimed at children between the ages of nine and 12 and young people aged 13 to 17, where, through various activities, they acquire skills that allow them to appreciate and value nature.
“Juanki (Juan Carlos Acevedo Gándara, co-founder and administrative director of Lee Conmigo) was a participant in the workshops and then an environmental leader for six years,” shared Lcdo. Lloveras with the attendees.
Environmental leaders are young people who were participants in the Immersion Workshops and, as part of their commitment to conservation, become guides through a training and development program.
Lcdo. Lloveras also highlighted another educational initiative of the organization he presides over: the collaborative work with the Instituto Nueva Escuela (INE) in 23 public schools that have adopted the Montessori teaching model, where pollinator gardens, butterfly houses, vegetable gardens, and plant nurseries have been established.
Johanna Santiago Torres, superintendent of the Eastern Region of Para la Naturaleza, addressing the audience, said, “I want to thank Lcdo. Fernando Lloveras San Miguel, who has allowed us to carry out this project, and the entire team of the organization.” Johanna also offered special thanks to Elizabeth Padilla Rodríguez, manager of the Science, Education, and Volunteers unit; Judy Galib-Frangie Bras, coordinator of Foundations and Development; and Mariel Santiago Rivera, interpretation coordinator of the Eastern Region.
“We are living in a very digital age, where we see everything through the screens of our phones. The fact that we can open a book, smell it, and see its pages and images is fantastic,” reflected the Superintendent, while announcing that reading events will continue to be held in the space as part of the regular programming.
For her part, the Interpretation Coordinator expressed that “today has been a very beautiful and special day here at CSJ. We open our protected natural areas to new generations so they can learn while having fun with what we do as an organization. We want to inspire children through stories and specialized events to join our efforts.”
At the family event, there were dances and exercises, and attendees participated in educational and artistic activities.
Let’s Have Fun Learning!
And then came the moment of fun, with the team from Lee Conmigo—Juan Carlos Acevedo Gándara, co-founder and administrative director; Gianlee Márquez Hernández, co-founder and executive director; Saraí Malavé Otero, reading promoters coordinator; and Lillyana Otero, reading promoter—cheerfully greeting the excited children. This nonprofit organization aims to cultivate a love of reading from early childhood and serves Puerto Rican families through reading promotion events and activities that foster collaborative work, values, and the fine arts.
“It is an honor to be able to open this Biblio-corner in Cabezas de San Juan, Fajardo, because having the experience of participating in the Immersion Workshops and then becoming an environmental leader were some of the reasons I became a teacher. It was that seed that planted in me an interest in children and education,” said Juan Carlos.
Then Gianlee proceeded to ask the audience, “Are we ready to open this space? Are you ready?” “Yessss!” the excited attendees responded.
“You know that we like many things… We like to dance, sing, read, and create. We are going to do all these things from this beautiful space. I want you to look around. How beautiful it is! I am going to ask all the families to stand up, please. Let’s go! Let’s warm up the body, let’s move,” invited the energetic educator, leading a fun session of dance and exercises accompanied by the songs “Hola a todos” by ‘Maestro Roger’; “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from the animated film Trolls; and “La taza” by Atención Atención.
Gianlee asked the audience another question: “How does the coquí sing?” which elicited a loud and collective “coquí, coquí, coquí!” from the children. Then, the Lee Conmigo team formed a choir to perform the didactic song “Lee Conmigo,” aimed at developing math skills and featuring coquíes as the main characters. The melody was sung by those present of all ages.
Then, Gianlee introduced the reading session of the book *Kaia and the Bees*, written by Maribeth Boelts and illustrated by Ángela Domínguez. The educator, pausing on each page of the book and asking questions to the children to promote their reading comprehension, read the text in a very animated and energetic way. The protagonist, Kaia, despite being very brave, has a deep fear of bees, even though her father is a beekeeper and always willing to help her overcome this emotion.
“We know that bees are important. Right? And we know that we have to take care of the bees. Right? And what things can we do to take care of the bees? Let’s see, what do you think?” Gianlee asked, prompting the children to respond: “Not killing them and letting them out (when they are trapped).”
“What other things can we do to take care of the bees? Take care of their habitat, their space,” invited Gianlee, who is also a Montessori guide, before leading a drawing session inspired by these productive insects.
Concluding Lee Conmigo’s participation, the Superintendent described the activity as “an incredible experience, not only for the East Region and its group of interpreters but also for all the parents who came to the Nature Reserve to join us today. The children enjoyed, sang, jumped, and laughed. They loved the way Lee Conmigo presented the stories from the books.”
The attendees also had the opportunity to take part in the new tour designed for children through the garden of the Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve.
New children’s tour
After the reading session, Mariel Santiago invited families to participate in a new interpretive tour in the garden of the Natural Reserve, designed for children aged six to 11 and conducted by environmental interpreter Jim Cruz Santiago.
According to the Interpretation Coordinator, her team of interpreters, with the support of Elizabeth Padilla, has been working for months on conceptualizing several interpretive tours aimed at this population.
“Our interpretation team is super happy and very excited. We have been working for a few months on tours aimed at children to teach them about our ecosystems and educate them in non-traditional educational settings. We don’t have to be within four walls to learn,” said Mariel.
Jim, for his part, emphasized that this series of tours “arises from the concern of reaching children more. The one we worked on today is in the garden. We want them to see where our food comes from, interact with plants, insects, and animals, and have a sensory experience where they can touch, smell, and feel. In short, the goal is for them to have an experience with nature,” adding that these tours will also be conducted in the nursery, lighthouse, and beaches of the Natural Reserve.
The garden has a variety of fruits and edible plants, including papayas, sugarcane, passion fruit, okra, beans, pigeon peas, and oregano, while the nursery stands out for having native and endemic trees and shrubs, some rare species, and others with traditional uses. It also features coastal plant species such as sea grapes; trees and shrubs like almácigo, tintillo, and carob trees; plants like maguey and icaco; and the four species of mangroves in the Puerto Rican archipelago: red, black, white, and buttonwood.
Visit us!
The Cabezas de San Juan Natural Reserve in Fajardo is open to the public and has programming from Thursday to Sunday at various times: 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 2 p.m. Visit here our reservations page for details.
For information about tours or reservations, you can also contact us at (787) 722-5882 or (787) 722-5834.
Address: Carr 987 km. 5.9 Las Croabas, Fajardo, PR.
We look forward to seeing you at Cabezas de San Juan!