In a year that scientists are already calling the hottest on record so far, Bostonians turned out for the Kick Off Event to this year’s Beat the Heat Climate Change Campaign eager to help support Earthwatch’s worldwide efforts to better understand and address this critical environmental challenge.

Gathering at The Vault in Boston’s financial district, these “Beat the Heaters,” many of them from Boston’s young professional population, enthusiastically pledged to get involved in a summer-long campaign to share resources and information, support Earthwatch’s climate change programs, and get involved in local volunteering efforts such as urban tree plantings and invasive plant species removal. They had a chance to meet and greet members of the Earthwatch Board of Directors in attendance, along with representatives of State Street, and of the wider Boston environmental non-profit community.

Earthwatch is grateful for the generosity of our hosts at The Vault, and thrilled to have the support of presenting sponsor State Street and sponsor First Wind for this year’s campaign. (For more information about the benefits of sponsoring this year’s Beat the Heat, contact info@earthwatch.org.) With the help of these sponsors, the hard work of the Beat the Heat Host Committee, and the enthusiasm of those who attended the kick off, this year’s campaign is poised to reach more people than ever before with more ways to get involved.

Beat the Heat seeks to connect people around the climate change issue and inspire them to take action, even if—perhaps especially if—they’ve never been active on the issue before. People can follow the campaign’s updates on our website, on Facebook, and on Earthwatch’s dedicated climate-change Twitter feed. Through these and other targeted outreach efforts, we’ll let people know about Earthwatch’s climate change programs and the results they’re getting, facilitate their joining Boston-area climate change volunteering efforts, and invite them to support Earthwatch’s climate change expeditions as donors and volunteers.

Just as the summer draws to a close, we’ll celebrate these efforts and garner more support for these programs at the Beat the Heat Gala, on September 16. Tickets to this exclusive event, to be held at The Roof at the world-famous Taj Hotel in Boston’s Back Bay, and hosted by the fantastic Frances Rivera (WHDH-TV) and the fabulous Jonathan Soroff (The Improper Bostonian), are already on sale.

We kicked the campaign off in a great way with tons of new faces, and are looking forward to a fantastic summer of Beat the Heat. Make this the summer you get involved, whether you’re in Boston or beyond!