Walking for Science on Earth Day

The air was fresh, the sun was shining, the forsythia bushes were explosions of lemon yellow, and the delicate pink crab apple blossoms were stunning against the bright blue sky.  Daffodils and tulips had burst into radiant red and yellow like they were celebrating and bird song provided the soundtrack.  It was International Earth Day and Mother Earth was decking herself out in her finery.  My friend and I were walking down University Avenue in Toronto. to City Hall to join the International Earth Day March for Science.

I had mistakenly got off of the subway one stop early but since the day was so beautiful we just enjoyed the extra walk.  After all we had come to Toronto to walk and to join scientists and their allies from around the world to stand up for the evidence that science discovers in the face of the US president’s disregard for evidence which he calls "a hoax".  While he takes funds away from the Environmental Protection Agency, we were marching for Mother Earth on her special day.

Just then, I realized that we were about to walk past the US Embassy.  It sits on University Avenue surrounded by cement and metal stanchions that even go across the sidewalk.  The front door was open and a lone guard stood outside on the raised portico.   We had to weave through the stanchions to continue on our way.  They did not exactly form a wall, but that's what they reminded me of as they blocked part of the sidewalk. The US government had built a highly fortified building to protect those inside while disregarding the protection of the earth that it stood on.  

When we got to City Hall, people were gathering and strangers were already talking to each other and offering directions to things like the washroom.  The signs were interesting and creative and lots of people were wearing lab coats.  There were families with strollers, kids walking, parents, students, people on bikes and in wheelchairs, and grandparents.  It was hard to tell who were the scientists and who were the allies.

The walk in Munich, Germany

We were joining thousands of people from 600 cities around the world to speak up about the importance of science worldwide and particularly to support American scientists who are under attack from the current administration.    My friend`s daughter and her family were marching in Europe on the same day.  She texted pictures from that march while we were still marching and my friend texted pictures of us to her and to my daughter. We were marching for them and our other children and our grandchildren and their children who are not here yet. 

We walked past the university where I earned my Bachelor of Science four decades ago.  It would have been inconceivable then to think that scientists had to march to prove that their work was valuable.  We walked past the hospital where two of my children were born.  We walked past Sick Kids Hospital where I had rushed to with some of my kids in emergency situations.  We walked past medical research buildings that look for the cures for things like cancer which affects so many of my clients.  But we did not walk past the US Embassy.  Years ago when we protested nuclear war and marched for peace we always walked past the US Embassy.  It seemed no mistake that we were not allowed to do so anymore and the symbolism was rich.

As I walked I tried to imagine people all around the world marching for the same thing.  I tried to imagine how we were connected to all of those people by intent, by social media, by personal relationships but really because we were all children of Mother Earth and this was her day.  In my mind I imagined little dots of light all over the planet.  I imagined us being connected the way that tree roots connect with each other in a forest.  I knew that this was an unprecedented walk and that it followed in the footsteps of the recent and now historic Women’s Walk.  A few women were wearing the pink hats as a reminder of that.  This is uncharted territory on one hand and on the other it felt easy, friendly, cheerful and somehow normal to take to the streets for what we believe.  There were apparently 3000 of us in Toronto but the crowd was so cooperative and cheerful that it felt as celebratory as the tulips and daffodils.

At Queen’s Park, the site of the Ontario Legislature, we heard speeches from scientists who had come out of their labs and classrooms to become political. In fact, Josh Matlow, a Torono City Councillor said, “Science should never be politicized but scientists can become political.”  You can see a clip of one young female scientist rallying the crowd here. 

Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill addresses the rally

Men and women, young and old and of different races spoke. A number of young female scientists said they had never spoken in front of such a large audience before and they were obviously outside of their comfort zone but rising to the occasion.  One Mohawk scientist spoke about the need for science to join with Indigenous knowledge to solve the problems of our times.  Then her son who is Mohawk and Lakota, spoke about the two months he spent at Standing Rock where he took part in the peaceful protection of the water that is being threatened by the proposed pipeline and what he learned there.  Over and over again, the speakers reminded us of the importance of science in everyday life and for sound policy choices for protecting the planet.  Scientists who are often invisible made themselves visible.  They challenged us to also be visible and vocal and to work together to make choices based on evidence so that we can care for the earth and each other.

After the speeches were over, we walked through Queen`s Park on the way back to the subway.  I wanted to find the statue of Canadian poet, Al Purdy that I had heard about.  In the far edge of the park we found the poet`s memorial and there at the foot of it was a placard from the march that read: “What do we want? Data.  When do we want it?   Forever.” 

I wondered what Al would have made of all of this as his likeness sat looking in the direction of the rally.  So,when I got home I searched through his last book, Beyond Remembering  and I found his poem Fragment which seemed to sum it all up so simply:  

 I loved being alive

 to stand between the earth and sky
 in springtime

 a great organ played in your bones
 when earth moved
 under your feet...