Give & Take: How Our Boston Office Helps Harbor Habitats Stay Healthy

This Summer, Prosek’s Boston team had the pleasure of joining the Friends of the Boston Harborwalk for an exciting morning of volunteering. The eight of us were equipped with our go-go-gadget extendo pickers and a massive trash bag to help support the ongoing cleanup efforts of the Harborwalk, ensuring all nearby residents and travelers alike have a clean and safe space to enjoy. This is the second time the Boston team has gone out into the community to support the habitats that connect us to the ocean, a cause near and dear to our team’s heart.

Cleaning up our harbors, beaches and rivers is now more critical than ever as we continue to fight climate change. In fact, according to the UN Environment program, 80% of all marine pollution stems from land-based sources, such as harbors. Keeping the Boston Harborwalk clean in particular is critical, given its sheer size, as it spans a massive 43-mile path that connects Boston’s eight waterfront neighborhoods – Charlestown, Dorchester, East Boston, Fort Point Channel, the North End, Seaport, South Boston and the Wharf district – to each other and the harbor itself, in addition to the numerous historic landmarks, beaches and other tourist attractions that are scattered throughout.

While the Boston Harborwalk does have a reputation for being a relatively clean environment compared to similar attractions in other cities, that is heavily due in part to groups like the Friends of the Boston Harborwalk facilitating weekly cleanup sessions. Not to mention, the organization also spends time educating locals on the historic significance of the harbor and its surrounding areas and teaching folks how we can all play a key role in maintaining its beauty.

We gained a newfound appreciation for the incredible effort it takes to maintain this stretch of land, especially as the team continues to evolve the Harborwalk through the Harborwalk 2.0 initiative designed to ensure the waterfront remains resilient to the impact of climate change, while still being accessible for the community. Furthermore, improving conditions of the harbor and the corresponding areas has proven to have a positive impact on the connecting rivers, helping reinvigorate the local ecosystem where numerous aquatic creatures, fish and even seals reside – an impressive feat thanks to the efforts of volunteers.

In total, we filled about a dozen trash bags with some common items including bottles, wrappers and more, with cigarette butts being the biggest culprit overall. That said, we did learn the fun fact that Massachusetts has dropped to the state’s historic low for adult smokers (9.8%), so hopefully that will soon be reflected in the litter rate.

As climate change continues to accelerate, it will be even more critical for volunteers to continue to support these aquatic environments and ensure they remain commercially viable and healthy. Any effort you can make to lend a hand in the cleanup of these spaces near you – wherever you live – will have massive short- and long-term benefits—and Prosek Boston plans to make it a habit of doing our part.

For more information on the Boston Harborwalk, check out: https://www.bostonharbornow.org/about-us/overview/. And while there are many ways you can learn more about how you can support your local harbors, beaches, and even the ocean – both through directly volunteering and actions you can take in your daily life – I recommend starting here: https://www.ifaw.org/journal/fifteen-ways-protect-the-ocean-marine-animals.