People from around the country will gather in Washington D.C. Saturday for the "March for Science." Montanans that don’t make the trip will still have a chance to participate in the global event.
Organizers are billing the March as supporting, "robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity," and, "for political leaders and policymakers to enact evidence-based policies in the public interest."
In Montana, there are a number of satellite marches happening across the state, including in Missoula.
Brit Garner is a Phd student in wildlife biology at the University of Montana, and co-organizer of the Missoula event.
"We’ve kind of tailored it to have a local theme where we’ll be celebrating scientists who make our community better," Garner says.
Montana marches are also planned in Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, and Helena. Another is being held at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.
Garner says it’s encouraging to have marches spread across the state, especially in places with different political demographics.
"Politics are not necessarily the point here," says Garner. "The point is to say clearly, we believe in science, we believe it should be part of policymaking, and we believe that it is an important and vital role in our society."
The March for Science coincides with Earth Day. There are more than 500 satellite marches planned internationally.
In Missoula, a rally will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Caras Park with a march along the Clark Fork River to follow.
