As they document the impacts of climate change in their communities, ISeeChangers also share ideas for solutions. When you have ideas for solutions — from individual ways you prepare yourself for weather hazards to big dreams you have for how your whole neighborhood or city can improve — share them in a new ISeeChange post!

Here are a few examples:

Life hacks and individual solutions

Parking on higher ground ahead of rain storms that might cause flooding:

How to elevate your car cheaply without even needing to move it:

Standard sandbags can support the weight on a small car. I put one under each of the two front wheels and then drive on top of them. The extra two inches of elevation can make a big difference in street flooding!

I have never seen this anywhere else but I think it should become more common. This is about as much elevation as you get from parking on a neutral ground.

Sandbags: portable neutral grounds

— Matthew Toups

Preparing for hurricanes by limiting risk from falling branches and making sure to have supplies:

We hope we are better prepared this time. We learned the hard way from Irma in 2017. We live 2 blocks west of the Halifax River. The Atlantic is about a mile east. We have precut plywood that fits into each of our 21 windows & a great way to brace them in place without screws. We’ve used it twice before. We bought FloodSax for our registers & entrance ways this time. We are elevated 2 feet above ground level. (Our home came extremely close to flooding during Irma)We will secure large outdoor items plus bungee any large totes to the garage wall. We have enough water for every water need. We have enough provisions for ourselves & our 7 cats. Enough litter, too. We have batteries in all our votives & tealights. Flashlights, too.
We had all 3 of the live oak trees that surround our house trimmed in April.
We will move our vehicles to higher ground only one block west from home. And then the potted plants. That’s a challenge- flooding or wind, either way, they’re vulnerable. I will place them in our garage which sits on ground level & hope for the best. It flooded during Irma & I lost very precious things.
It’s very hot & humid today. We watch Weather updates. My husband, pastor and long time friend helped a 92 y/o lady to obtain, fill, haul & place sandbags along venerable areas of her home on the river today.

— Helen Cummins

Installing new air filters ahead of fire season:

Although we are enjoying the nice weather, we are well aware that we didn’t get any rain in February last year ( we didn’t get much this year either.). We are preparing for another potentially awful fire season by getting a new air filter and by changing the filters in the apartment.

— Lauren McNulty

Whole community solutions

Updating stormwater infrastructure to improve drainage and keep water off roads and out of buildings:

West part of marconi flooded like always, big lakes. Seems like such an easy dig to fix if we want to preserve the roadbed

— scott eustis

Planting shade trees and other native plants to help curb urban heat with green space:

Cambridge DPW worker watering new tree in Central Square in a hot day. Tree will provide valuable shade as it matures.

— John Bolduc

Raise awareness through activism:

Germany is on the streets today. More than 80.000 are joining the climate strike in Berlin. Some impressions from the march.

— Elisa Fahrenholz

What solutions can you dream up for your family and your neighborhood? Tell us about it in a new ISeeChange post!