WE DID IT!!!

We had an AWESOME march!!! There were over 1000 people there (probably closer to 1200). The energy was high, the signs were great, the speakers were terrific. The musicians provided wonderful music and the Volunteers in Policing kept us all in line. Altogether, we couldn’t have asked for more!

All 250 postcards were filled out and will be sent to legislators. Hundreds of you registered to get more information on future events. It’s obvious there is a lot of interest in continuing to support science in many different ways. Once we (the organizers) have recovered and caught up with our regular work, we’ll be in touch.

Thank you all again for making this a truly memorable day!

Christa and Chris

Photo: Bill Simpson

March day program for April 22

We have a program for the day of the march. Please feel free to download the PDF version and distribute it!

Poster making parties!

We’ve got: poster board, markers, stakes, stencils…

We need: YOU to come help us make posters! Sunday, 3-7 pm, Wood Center Ballroom, UAF campus and Monday, 5-8 pm, The Hub, 410 2nd Ave (downtown).

If you have our own materials, please bring them. If not, just show up!

Last planning meeting!

Our last (gasp!) planning meeting is Wednesday, April 12, at 6:30 pm in the south-side lounge on the 3rd floor of the Murie Building on the UAF campus. If you are volunteering, please plan to attend.

And don’t forget our two poster-making parties: Sunday March 16, 3-7 pm, in the Wood Center Ballroom, and Monday March 17, 5-8 pm in The Hub (410 2nd Ave #100). We’ll be addressing postcard, folding zines, practicing slogans… and of course making posters. Bring your friends!

 

Sign-making parties!

We have two sign-making parties planned:

1. Sunday, April 16, Wood Center Ballroom, 3-7 pm
2. Monday, April 17, The Hub, 410 2nd Avenue

Join us to make posters, make up march chants, and have lots of fun. Bring materials if you have them; we will have some available as well. Kids are welcome!

March day updates: program & route

The planning is coming together, and it is time to announce the information we have for the events of march day (April 22).

10 am: We start with a rally & speakers inside Ryan Middle School.

At about 10:30 or 10:45 we will start marching, up to Airport Frontage Road and in an elongated rectangle parallel to Airport Road. The route is about 1 mile long, but marchers can cross at Cowles Street or the pedestrian overpass for a shorter option. We will have ushers and march leaders to point the way.

If you cannot march or the weather is making it hard, you can stay at Ryan! There will be music inside Ryan Middle School throughout the event, and we plan to have some refreshments and various tables with activities and information.

Once we head back to Ryan, we will have some more speeches and then close the event and send everyone right over to Barnette Magnet School for Earth Day Celebration, which starts at 12 noon.

What you can do now: Spread the word. Please download a copy of the March for Science Fairbanks flyer (PDF) and, if you can, print out a few copies (maybe 10-20) and hang them on bulletin boards around town and your workplace. We especially need people outside Fairbanks itself — Ester, Nenana, Fox, North Pole, Delta Junction, Chatanika etc. —  Post to forums you participate in. If printing is not an option, you could post the flyer or the information to forums you participate in, mailing lists, social media. Thanks!

Beyond the March

Marching is great, but it alone won’t make the threats to science disappear. We’re putting together some ideas for what we can do after the march to continue defending science in Alaska and beyond. Any money left over from fundraising for the march will go toward these efforts. We’ll have information and sign-up sheets available at the march. Here are some ideas – let us know what you think, and tell us about YOUR ideas!

1. Hold a workshop for high school students to introduce them to careers in science.

2. Buy subscriptions to good kids’ science magazines for elementary schools (especially those with less exposure to scientists like Joy, Denali, North Pole, Ladd). Good examples are Ask and Muse (both part of the Cricket magazine series)

3. Put together a team of people who are on the look-out for bills that negatively affect science and the use of science in policy makers at the local, state, or national level, and a rapid response team that can call or send letters to legislators or otherwise raise a stink.

4. Have a group of scientists willing to meet with politicians in town (or in Juneau) and groups like Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, etc. especially threats to the economy when it comes to climate change, loss of EPA funding, etc.. This “speakers’ bureau” could also be available when press is looking for someone to answer questions on climate change or other issues.

5. Christa is getting intensive training in science communication as part of a fellowship she just got, starting the day after the march (yes, very ironic!). She could run workshops to pass on what she learned to anyone who is interested.

We have shirts!

We have shirts!
You can now buy your very own March for Science Fairbanks t-shirt, complete with our logo, in a lovely ice-blue, grey, or olive. Go to: https://www.bonfire.com/march-for-science-fairbanks/ All proceeds will go to our march fund, not the general one. But you need to hurry: this “campaign” lasts only for 13 more days (we’ll work on having as second go at it). They’ll start shipping as soon as they reach 11 t-shirts sold. I just bought the first one. Now it’s your turn!

Announcing: the march route!

For weeks now, we’ve been asked over and over: “Do you know WHERE yet?”. Now we do! Here is a map of the march route. We’ll be marching in a loop along Airport Way, which means people can jump in and leave as they wish.

As you can see, we’re planning on starting at Ryan Middle School (the brand new building close to the hospital). We will have several speakers at the start of the march, and we will have live music for folks who want a break, need a hot drink, or want to check out the information booth and other activities. Around noon we will detour to Barnette school so people can join the Earth Day activities that will be starting around then. More details on the program will be forthcoming.

The route may still change a bit (we still need permission from DOT for parts of this route), and there is still a chance that we will need to change our central location. The reason we can even consider using a school district building is because the fabulous folks at the Northern Alaska Environmental Center are allowing us to go through them for the insurance we need. So, next time you’re driving past 830 College Road, stop by and give a HUGE thank you to the Northern Alaska Environmental Center!! And while you are there, consider giving them a donation and let them know it’s for March of Science Fairbanks. Those folks rock!!­­­

Donations now accepted!

We have some great news: The Northern Alaska Environmental Center( http://northern.org ) has agreed to let us run donations through them! (They are a registered non-profit organization). If you would like to make a donation to help us pay for renting a space, printing flyers and materials to hand out at the march, providing some hot drinks, etc. please give / send your donations to them, and let them know that it is for the Fairbanks March for Science.  Cash or cheques (made out to the Northern Alaska Environmental Center but with Fairbanks March for Science in the memo line) can dropped off at or mailed to them at 830 College Road, Fairbanks, AK 99701. Sorry, at this time we don’t have any way for you to donate electronically, but we’re looking into it.

A VERY BIG THANK YOU to the Northern Alaska Environmental Center – those folks rock!