The March for Science is taking place on Saturday, April 22. In what is now a global event, scientists and those who support science-based evidence will be hitting the streets in mass marches, similar to the Women’s March on January 21. In a mission statement, organizers say the event “champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity.”
The main March for Science is taking place in Washington DC. 545 satellite marches are planned in countries around the world. In California, there are 43 satellite marches happening in places like Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, and Redding. Here on the Central Coast, there are marches planned in San Luis Obispo, Cambria, Santa Barbara, and Monterey.
The march in Santa Barbara is being organized two students from UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College, and will coincide with Earth Day celebrations there.
“It’s not an anti-Trump or anti-administration rally. This is really a pro-science and pro-evidence-based policy making march. Science is important for all of us. It’s not a partisan issue,” said Santa Barbara march organizer Hannah Armer.
The event in Santa Barbara starts at 11 a.m. at De La Guerra plaza in downtown Santa Barbara.
In Monterey, the march starts at 1 p.m. at Monterey City Hall and is a three-hour event including speeches and a beach cleanup.
Starting at 10 a.m. in Cambria, marchers will head down Center Street to the town’s library.
In San Luis Obispo, the March for Science begins at 10 a.m. in Emerson Park and marchers are slated to walk along sidewalks through downtown San Luis Obispo. The event is expected to wrap up by 11:30 a.m.