Earth Day did not go uncelebrated in Washington on Saturday.

At the Havens Gardens boat ramp, river-lovers gathered at 8 a.m., armed with plastic bags and trash pickers to retrieve garbage from the river on foot and in the water via kayak and boat.

By 10 a.m. at the corner of West Main Street and Stewart Parkway, a crowd had gathered for Washington’s March for Science, a sister march to more than 400 events happening across the world. The event was organized by members of the progressive group Beaufort County Indivisible, with assistance from the Pamlico-Albemarle Wildlife Conservationists

“I’m very happy,” organizer Rachel Midgette said, regarding the turn out to the march.

Attila Nemecz, head of Beaufort County Indivisible and president of PAWC, estimated there were more than 250 people in attendance.

Marchers ranged in age from toddlers to the elderly. Most held handmade signs to carry along the route, many of them focusing on what Beaufort County residents count as its greatest resource — rivers.

Prior to marchers streaming down West Main Street, a line-up of speakers addressed the crowd. Mary Farwell, director of undergraduate research at East Carolina University, stressed the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) involvement for all young people, but especially young girls, as students pursuing degrees in science have decreased across the U.S. Both North Carolina Wildlife Federation board member Jennifer Alligood and former science teacher Ed Rhine spoke about how getting involved with issues on a local level can make a difference. Alligood was instrumental in the “No OLF” movement more than a decade ago, ultimately preventing the U.S. Navy from building a practice landing field near the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, a region known for its migratory bird species. Rhine is one of the founders of “Save Blounts Creek,” a consortium of Blounts Creek residents, business owners, fishermen and environmentalist that has bolstered the environmental group Sound Rivers’ ongoing court battle against a mining company whose state permit to discharge fresh water into Blounts Creek could negatively impact the creek’s ecosystem. Philip Ninan, Washington resident and chief scientific officer for eMind Science Corp, spoke about the importance of science, pointing how scientific discoveries have improved humanity, from creating the vaccine that eradicated polio, saving millions of lives, to the fact that the fiberglass from which boats are made came to be courtesy of chemists.

“Nature does not care about us. It has no politics,” Ninan told the crowd. “There is no Planet B.”

To the beat of drums, accompanied by chants of “Hey, ho! Hey, ho! We won’t let our planet go!”, Washington’s March for Science traveled with police escort along Main Street from Crab Park to MacNair Street, up Water Street and Stewart Parkway to its original start point.

“I’m proud to say I raised two scientists and science helped me become a pediatric physical therapist,” March attendee Lisa Hodges posted on Facebook. “Today in Early Intervention, we use evidence based practice to help families help their kids. Wouldn’t you want someone helping you who knows the science behind what they are doing? I know I do.”