Have you noticed the new markers on the recently completed rail trail section in Newburyport between Joppa park and the American Yacht club?  Have you wondered what they are about?  Scanning the QR code on the signs will tell you the story. 

The signs are the brainchild Thomas Starr, a Professor at Northeastern University College of Arts Media and Design.  Remembrance of Climate Futures is a site specific public art installation that started in 2019 with installations in Cambridge, Essex, and Durham NH.  This summer the project is being extended across Essex county coastal communities from Lynn to Salisbury with funding from the Essex County Community Fund (ECCF). Guided by climate change science, the goal of the signs is to encourage the public to think about climate change and how the local community will need to respond.  

Newburyport has published a Climate Resiliency plan that highlights risks to the city’s infrastructure and residents. The rail trail improvements are part of the plan to protect the wastewater treatment plant from higher sea levels and storm surge. The remembrance trail signs tell the story of past high water impact, current improvements and what life will be like in the future.

Similar signs in Durham reference the city’s switch to renewable energy in 2040 and moving a park gazebo to higher ground. In Essex a sign notes that a culvert was enlarged in 2034 to accommodate higher tides due to sea level rise. Starr hopes the signs will help counter apathy about climate change and help communities engage in planning for the future changes that will be required. 

As you travel around Essex county, Cambridge, and Durham this summer, keep your eyes open for similar signs.