On the waterfront

Sometimes the little guys win-- in this case, children in Chelsea and East Boston.

Seven years after 12 local activists started a campaign to protect a small glade on Chelsea Creek, a $650,000 fund was opened last month to proposals for environmental education along the waterway.

Each year, $150,000 will go toward "youth leadership programs talking about environmental stewardship" in Chelsea and East Boston, says Kate Guedj of the Boston Foundation , which administers the fund. "It was a way to leave a lasting impact."

Despite the area's grimy reputation, "there's a big effort to try to bring access to the Chelsea Creek," says Gail Miller, 58, of East Boston. Beyond the rental cars and loading docks, "there's a neighborhood there as well," says former resident Lauri Webster , 48. So locals took notice when a shipping company, Logan 480, got a license to build a freight-forwarding facility on an open 5.6-acre parcel -- one of the few undeveloped spaces along the creek. Concerned about the impact on the neighborhood, Miller, Webster, and 20 other women appealed the developer's license with the Department of Environmental Protection.

Logan 480 later agreed to clean up the waterfront, allow public access, make its building more attractive -- and to put $650,000 toward environmental projects. "Everybody wins," says David Trueblood of the Boston Foundation. "They wrestled it to such a creative viewpoint."

Another shipping company, Cargo Ventures, bought the facility after the settlement and carried it through.

DANIELLE DREILINGER