海角大神

On a sunny day in early May, Magdalena Ayed leans over the fence above a pebbly beach in East Boston. It looks much better than it did just weeks before, says Ms. Ayed, when she and a group of volunteers cleaned the area of trash. But even so, a few plastic bottles dot the ground, and the sea wall, which protects this neighborhood from the fluctuating tides of Boston Harbor, is leaning precariously out over the lapping waves. 鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 advocate for this [area], it would stay like this for 20, 30 years,鈥� says Ayed, who is the founder and director of Harborkeepers, a local environmental nonprofit.

Like other cities up and down the East Coast, Boston has faced a number of extreme weather events this year. Four nor鈥檈asters walloped the region with heavy rain, snow, and storm surges, and high tides have exceeded the harbor鈥檚 12.5-foot tidal level eight times so far in 2018, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Here in East Boston 鈥� a dense, immigrant-heavy community across the harbor from downtown 鈥� encroaching water presents notable challenges. The neighborhood is one of the most flood-vulnerable sectors of the city, according to a 2017 study from the Climate Ready Boston initiative. Even under moderate projections for sea level rise, floods with a 1 percent likelihood today are expected to become four to five times as likely in East Boston in the next 50 years.

But since East Boston is a working-class neighborhood that鈥檚 isolated from the rest of the city by the harbor, its residents don鈥檛 always have access to resources and knowledge to protect themselves, Ayed says.

So starting last year, Ayed and her nonprofit have been bringing environmental consciousness straight to her neighbors. Through her work, which includes harbor cleanups, workshops in schools, and live coverage of floods on social media, Ayed has been raising awareness about the challenges and helping to empower residents as they adapt to a changing environment.

鈥淢agdalena has really brought a lot of attention to the need to clean our harbor, our waterfront, and to be good stewards of the natural resources around us,鈥� says Massachusetts state Rep. Adrian Madaro, whose district includes the neighborhood. 鈥淚t gives us an opportunity for East Boston residents to take ownership of our community.鈥�

Ayed, who was born in Argentina and grew up in New Jersey, moved to East Boston 12 years ago. By appearance alone, the community stands out. Streets here are lined with Dominican barbershops and Mexican and Salvadoran restaurants that host late-night mariachi shows.

When Ayed noticed that flooding began to worsen here a few years ago, she looked for opportunities to respond.

And in 2015, Mayor Martin Walsh unveiled the Climate Ready Boston initiative to help the city protect itself against changing environmental conditions. As part of the effort, Boston enlisted community leaders for environmental stewardship training. Ayed joined the group and afterward began incubating plans for a new organization that would bring the city鈥檚 momentum on climate advocacy to East Boston, focusing on the neighborhood鈥檚 vulnerability 鈥� and its potential for collaboration.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e talking about gentrification, there鈥檚 a whole bunch of East Bostonians who are embracing it and a whole other cohort who are concerned about it.... Climate change, though, and extreme weather events and sea level rise, it鈥檚 almost like a great equalizer. Everyone is going to be impacted by this,鈥� says Representative Madaro, a Democrat.

Teaching the community

Given the neighborhood鈥檚 large immigrant population, East Boston鈥檚 schools are a critical place for teaching the community about the environmental health of the waterfront and how to prepare for extreme weather events like flooding, says Elizabeth Thomas, a former school administrator who has lived here for 35 years.

鈥淭he schoolchildren often are the ones who are the translators of information to and from their parents,鈥� she says.

Twice a week, beginning in January, Ayed and her colleague Kannan Thiruvengadam, an East Boston resident and director of the nonprofit Eastie Farm, have been visiting local schools to lead workshops on pollution and flooding.

In late March, at the Donald McKay K-8 School, Ayed and Mr. Thiruvengadam opened a workshop with a simple question: 鈥淗ow would you describe Boston鈥檚 climate?鈥�

Shouts of 鈥渃old,鈥� 鈥渞ainy,鈥� and 鈥渨et鈥� echoed around the room. One girl simply responded 鈥渙dd.鈥�

The questions turned to recent Boston weather and the storm water that had collected in the parking lot outside. The class refers to it as 鈥淟ake McKay.鈥� Ayed then highlighted how trash and debris that collect in storm drains can prevent floodwater on the street from dissipating. Afterward the students, each armed with a trash picker, ventured outside to clear the campus.

Since last year, Harborkeepers has led a series of cleanup initiatives along the wharf to clear storm debris. In 2017, it collected more than 1,000 pounds of trash. This year so far, the figure is close to 650 pounds.

Enthusiasm for the initiatives has been strong. 鈥淲e went down to one park.... After I left that day I was like, 鈥榃ow, this is fantastic; we cleaned up this whole park,鈥� says Elizabeth St. Andre, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood. 鈥淚t made me feel fantastic. Now I鈥檝e been trying to get more involved in the environment.鈥�

Ms. St. Andre isn鈥檛 the only resident who has been galvanized by Ayed鈥檚 efforts.

鈥淎t the beginning people would say, 鈥楩orget it, you鈥檙e never going to get people to come and clean for free,鈥� 鈥� Ayed says. 鈥淎nd the funny thing is, we鈥檙e getting people requesting to come and help us saying, 鈥業 want my group to come and help clean.鈥� 鈥� Harborkeepers events, including education efforts and ocean stewardship activities, have reached more than 550 people, she says.

Before major flooding hit Boston on March 2, Ayed posted several videos on social media instructing residents how to prepare their homes for extreme weather. When the storm hit, she recorded the flooded streets and overflowing water drains.

鈥淚t is utterly important to document these things because we don鈥檛 want to have to rely on others to do it,鈥� she says.

One vulnerable spot along the water鈥檚 edge is a parking lot behind Shaw鈥檚, the neighborhood鈥檚 sole supermarket. As Ayed traversed through wind and rain that day, she captured a picture of the store鈥檚 loading docks inundated with nearly a foot of water.

The reaction from her friends and neighbors was powerful. Now, when the harborfront floods, a network of volunteers is ready to record the scene and tell residents how they can protect themselves.

鈥淢agdalena posts a lot about weather and the storms and what to have for safety kits,鈥� St. Andre says. 鈥淎nd so I was ready.... She鈥檚 very precise.鈥� Harborkeepers鈥檚 social media platforms, in both English and Spanish, have amassed about 2,000 followers.

Unity and resolve

Many in East Boston are quick to mention how removed they feel from the rest of the city. 鈥淲e have a community here that is surrounded by water. We are essentially an island,鈥� Ayed says.

But through her work, she has discovered a curious kind of unity and resolve out of that isolation. 鈥淲e share the flooding. We share the lack of access to the [subway] or whatever it may be,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in the same space.鈥�

鈥� For more, visit harborkeepers.org.

Three groups responding to natural disasters

UniversalGiving helps people give to and volunteer for top-performing charitable organizations around the world. All the projects below are vetted by UniversalGiving; 100 percent of each donation goes directly to the listed cause.

鈥� Globe Aware promotes sustainability and cultural awareness. Take action: Volunteer to rebuild roofs that were damaged by hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

鈥� Operation USA aids children and families in the wake of natural disasters and other challenges. Take action: Donate money to assist families in Texas who were affected by hurricane Harvey鈥檚 flooding.

鈥� SBP, which got its start in St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina, works to reduce the time between disaster and recovery. Take action: Help fund the rebuilding of homes in New Orleans, where a tornado hit last year and Katrina struck in 2005.