The March for Science returns today for its second year, with marches and rallies planned for 200 cities worldwide. Last year’s march was one of the largest public displays of support for science, drawing 1.3 million people around the globe to rallies in more than 450 cities.

David Kanter, an organiser of the march in New York, says the theme of the day is the intersection of science and education. “We really want to focus on the power of science and scientific training to empower young people, to empower communities that have often been underrepresented in society and in science,” he says. “The theme for all the marches this year is accountability, making sure that all of our elected officials are held accountable in terms of being able to respect science.”

Sending a message

This morning in Washington Square Park in New York, a small crowd began to gather under a cloudless sky. Some, like mechanical engineer Patrick Landry, had attended marches and rallies last year. He came out today because “carbon emissions keep going up, we need to send a message to our administration and the world that we need to find a solution,” he said.

Other marchers, like Liz Ndoye, a retired teacher from Hoboken, did not attend last year but felt that current events make this year’s march particularly important . “I’m terrified to live in a time when our leaders say science is fake news or a conspiracy. Marches make everyone aware there are people concerned about, for example, the EPA rolling back regulations,” Ndoye said.

10-year-old Dakota Shanley, whose stepmother Susan Perkins was a speaker, said she thinks kids should have more science classes in school. “If we get rid of science, we’re on the verge of losing so much information about Earth and space,” she said. “The result of not enough science is people think the earth is flat, and we need to stop that.”

At the back of the rally area, music, hands-on science demonstrations, and scientific posters lent a feeling halfway between a street fair and a scientific conference.

A global movement

New York City hosts just one of hundreds of demonstrations today. People around the world are gathering for marches in support of science: