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March for Science NYC: Earth Day 2017

Usually for Earth Day, I just go to the local park, buy some goodies from the Farmer’s Market--maybe splurge a bit by getting lavender soap or a bouquet of flowers instead of just an ice coffee or a muffin--but it wouldn’t be that different from a normal Saturday other than I would take some photographs and then write about it. I usually have fun and enjoy the outdoors, but to be honest, I do not do nearly as much as I should or need to in order to make an actual difference in the grand scheme of things.

This year, I went for something different; hopefully something a bit more. I joined the Earth Day Network about a month ago and donated enough in order to receive this year’s Earth Now T-shirt (made from 8 recycled plastic bottles). I have taken specific steps to begin participating in the global conversation on science & environmental conservation:

  1. I started this blog to highlight some of my personal thoughts and experiences.

  2. I have acquired a Twitter account and follow premier scientific journals & environmental organizations so I can help spread the word on valuable topics.

  3. I contribute to Instagram with with positive photographs highlighting the beauty in nature I encounter on a daily basis.

I continue to be a member of the Sierra Club, NRDC, WWF, ASPCA, The US Humane Society, and AMNH; I sign online petitions for causes I believe in whenever I can. I am the recycling and energy conservation Natzi in my household--or so I have been told--and I dream of composting and gardening responsibly when I become a homeowner someday. Our two dogs are very loved and live happy, safe lives. All of this combined, and I still need to do more.

And so on Earth Day, I woke up early and packed my Sierra Club backpack with some things I may need, as I planned to be outside all day:

  • Two granola bars

  • A bottle of water

  • My wallet & housekey

  • A notebook

  • A couple of pens

  • A bag of cough drops

  • My cameo cap (which is my favorite of all my hats)

  • An umbrella (the forecast predicted rain for the day)

When I was ready, I walked to Union Square, where vendors were already setting up for the Farmer’s Market. Grabbing an iced coffee, I took the 4 train Uptown to 77th S. and then walked across Central Park to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) on the other side. The bustling amount of joggers, cyclists, walkers, and Labradors ambling freely in the park on that fine fresh morning pleased me; I need to explore more of Central Park and more often.

On the front steps of AMNH main entrance, there were already groups of people gathering. As I crossed the street and aimed myself towards the middle steps, a pleasant young woman about my age (perhaps a grad student?) wearing a blue & white AMNH employee T-shirt, greeted me with, “Yeah, Earth Now, are you here to join us?” When I answered yes, she said, “Welcome; I think there are still some coffee and donuts in the underpass down that was,” and I went to where she had gestured, slightly crestfallen that there were donuts and not bagels. However, moments later I was munching on a Boston Creme while adding some free buttons to my pack. There were a few groups here and there (it seems people were using this spot as a rendezvous point), but eventually I wandered over and assimilated myself into the periphery of an NY Women in Life Sciences group. I am only an Editorial Assistant at a scientific publisher, but my undergrad majors were Environmental Sciences & English and so I was drawn to this particular collection and as such stayed near them for much of the March.

We Marched from 81st St. AMNH all the way down to 42nd St. Times Square, and while I enjoyed browsing the signs and photographing my favorites, it was the little things that made me glad to be there. It was the DNA-helix shaped silver bracelet on a PhD student’s wrist, and the men next to me’s discussion on why electrons cannot be split like protons and neutrons can: these little flashes of people that regardless of their brevity so well demonstrated how integral science is to their daily lives. Oh, how the world would be a better place if such science was important to everyone… which is why we March.

My favorite sign I saw that day was a young girl’s “Let’s Cell-ebrate Science” message, which could have easily been a derivative of one of her class projects. I took a photo of her and what I presumed to be her grandfather, grandmother and mother. All I know of the group is what the older gentleman told me, which was, “We are three generations and two scientists.” Hopefully they will become three scientists someday, when the young girl grows up.

There were some drummers performing at Times Square and a pair of girls had created giant puppets out of styrofoam containers, but other than that there wasn’t much else going on, so after I got separated from my Marching group I took the 3 train Downtown to Park Place so I could catch the latter half of Sierra Club’s sponsored talks in front of City Hall. I had missed the first part, but it was still great to witness representatives from multiple organizations, especially in the rain, voicing their support for long-lasting sustainable environmentally friendly change.

A few key speakers came forward and said some rallying words, such as Dwaine C. Perry, Chief, Ramapough Lenape Nation; Council Members Costa Constantinides, chair of the Comm. on Environmental Protection and Helen Rosenthal, Comm on Contracts; State Senators Liz Krueger, Member of the Senate Finance Committee and Brad Hoylman, Member of the Environmental Conservation Comm.; Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, Sub. Comm. on Renewable Energy; Jon Forster, DC 37, Bethany Yarrow, Musician; and Lawrence Jennings, Green Faith Interfaith Partner. Then, representatives from key environmental organizations came forward to give a statement on what they stand for and will continue to fight for. Each statement was printed on the back of a puzzle piece, and after a statement was read the representative would walk over and add their puzzle piece to the globe, which had been provided by a local artist for the event. As the puzzle pieces began to fill the clear globe with blues and greens, the graduate effect was powerful. It is only by bringing together various environmental organizations and people who care a whole awful lot, and working together as a team on a large scale, can we begin to restore the globe to a healthy, sustainable state.

There were issues first with the bullhorn staying together and then with the speakers knowing how to use it, especially since some speakers and spectators were elderly, and so it was difficult for us to always understand each other. The rain made it slightly uncomfortable to be standing around, and multiple people holding umbrellas made it difficult to see what was happening on stage from certain angles. The gathering was awkward and choppy, but it was human and beautiful, and I am so glad I participated.

From there, I walked all the way home Uptown via Centre St. and then Lafayette St. I splurged at the Farmer’s Market on a loaf of pumpkin flax sourdough bread & a jar of strawberry rhubarb jam. At home, I rubbed my dogs down and loved them close, rested my tired legs, and made sure to save the photographs I had taken. It was a good day :)

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