When global leaders, researchers, climate advocates, scientists, and business managers gather across New York City for Climate Week NYC 2026 next week, the conversations will often hover at 30,000 feet. We will hear about carbon offsets, macroeconomic shifts, and international energy policy, as well as companies talking (often in broad strokes) about their actions and programs.
Those high-level summits matter. Yet climate resilience does not start in a boardroom—it lives under our feet, in the streets we navigate daily, and along the shorelines that shape our city.
Long before seawalls and modern bulkheads defined Lower Manhattan, this shoreline functioned as a dynamic, edible ecosystem. Oysters the size of dinner plates stabilized storm surges, tidal wetlands cushioned the coast, and maritime markets fed a growing metropolis straight from local waters and busy sidewalks. The street names we walk every day—Water Street, Pearl Street, Front Street—trace the literal history of how New Yorkers continually pushed soil into the harbor, reshaping the edges of New York’s islands while distancing ourselves from the natural systems that sustained us to make us the city we are today.
Next week, I’m hosting Sunken Suppers & Coastal Secrets: NYC’s Maritime Food History Walking Tour. It’s an official Climate Week NYC walking tour centered on food to trace those sunken histories and explore how our maritime past holds the keys to our climate future.
History as a Climate Compass
Looking at climate adaptation through the lens of history changes how we view resilience:
- Rediscovering Living Infrastructure: Oysters and salt marshes were never just food sources; they were natural breakwaters. Rebuilding living shorelines today is not a new invention—it is a return to an ecological equilibrium that protected these New York islands for centuries.
- Understanding What Lies Beneath: When we walk Lower Manhattan, we are standing on layers of ballast stones, discarded oyster shells, historic timber, and sunken treasure. Knowing how past generations transformed the coast helps us understand why these same neighborhoods flood today during severe storms.
- Reconnecting Food to Place: A resilient city requires a resilient food web. Examining how New York historically fed itself from surrounding estuaries reveals the urgent need to protect regional waterways, support local fisheries and food-based businesses, and eliminate pollution in our waters, as well as our air and soil.
Join the Walk
We already have a great crowd who’s bought tickets, but a handful of spots remain for those who want to step out of the conference rooms and experience Climate Week NYC from the street level with me.
We will walk the historic paths of Lower Manhattan around the South Street Seaport, examine how colonial maritime trade shaped our physical geography, and discuss how community-driven ecological repair can protect our coastal neighborhoods like this one from rising tides and storms.
Whether you join in person or follow along from afar, reconnecting with the historical geography of your own neighborhood is one of the most powerful ways to ground climate action in reality.
The Togetherhood Takeaway
You don’t need to attend an international summit to build a climate mindset. You can start by observing how your own neighborhood interacts with the living world.
- Find What Existed Before Modern Infrastructure: Look up historical topographic maps of your neighborhood (such as the Welikia Project for NYC) or check out exhibits at your local museums. Notice where streams, marshes, and natural shorelines once flowed beneath modern pavement. That historical geography often predicts where water pools during heavy downpours today and opens up our imaginations to what we may be able to restore so that all living beings thrive.
- Support Nature Restoration: Back grassroots organizations working directly in your neighborhood. In NYC, we have quite a few including the Billion Oyster Project, local riverkeeper groups, and Natural Areas Conservancy. Restoring native habitats builds long-term natural buffers against storm damage and climate resiliency.
- Walk with Curiosity: Take an hour this week to walk your neighborhood with fresh eyes. Notice where rainwater drains, how trees and vegetation exist alongside human-made infrastructure, and your wildlife neighbors.
Next week, I will be sharing a full recap from my walking tour, along with dispatches, field notes, and ideas gathered from events across Climate Week NYC that I’ve attended.
Christa Avampato 