Wooster Geologists participate in the historic March For Science on Earth Day, 2017

Wooster, Ohio — It was a chilly day downtown, but several hundred people gathered downtown for the national March For Science. We were one of over 500 local events across the country advocating for science awareness, education and funding. Thank you very much for retired Wooster Professor of Biology Lyn Loveless for organizing such a complex meeting with speakers and break-out discussions in local businesses. It was a great success. Above are some of the signs held by children in attendance. Several Wooster Geologists were in the diverse crowd, and some participated directly.

One view of the attendees. We all see the distinctive profile of Dr. Wiles in the foreground. Kelli Baxstrom may recognize someone on the far right!

One of the speakers was ace Wooster physicist and former dean Dr. Shila Garg. Note her coat on this mid-April day.

I include this photo (taken by Wooster political scientist Matt Krain) of Dr. Wiles and me to show my Paleontological Society colleagues that I wore The Shirt, even if no one noticed under the jacket.

One of the break-out sessions was on climate change. Greg Wiles and Clara Deck (’17) did great outreach work explaining their research to the large gathering. Wooster’s paleoclimate and climate change research and education is making a difference. Visit the Tree-Ring Lab website to see more details about the operation.

It was an inspiring afternoon, especially seeing the many young scientists and scientists-to-be who participated. Of course, for someone my age it is astonishing that we have to advocate for something so self-evidently beneficial as science, but such are our times.