Feb. 12 is "Darwin Day"

Isle of Man Freethinkers Celebrated the 199^th birthday of Charles Darwin on Sunday – to mark the occasion Andree Dubbeldam, of the Wildflowers of Mann Project spoke about the celebration of diversity our native grasses.

“Since the Island was created the flora has subtly evolved and adapted in isolation to climate and site conditions. Unlike many parts of the British Isles, the Island has managed to maintain many of its flower rich habitats and continues to provide a unique environment for flowers to evolve”

Hundreds of groups across the globe will celebrate the date as "Darwin Day" in honour of the discoveries and life of the man who famously described biological evolution via natural selection.

"Darwin Day promotes understanding of evolution and the scientific method," said Andrew Dixon of Isle of Man Freethinkers which organised the Darwin Day Celebration on the Island. "This celebration expresses gratitude for the enormous benefit that scientific knowledge has contributed to the advancement of humanity."

Next year will mark both the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the 1859 publication of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species", which presented the scientific theory that populations evolve over generations through natural selection.

The Darwin Day Celebration started with one event in 1995. Last year there were more than 850 Darwin Day events world-wide. Darwin Day festivities have included debates, lectures, essay contests, film festivals, museum exhibits, art shows and even an "Evolution Banquet" with ‘Primordial Soup’ followed by a ‘Darwin Fish Fry’.