Thursday, April 21, 2005
With Earth Day happening tomorrow, the weekend ahead is packed with events and activities having to do with the planet we live on. Many of them are listed below.
Among the busiest places to be this weekend is Bristol's 28-acre Audubon Society Environmental Education Center.
The center's fifth annual Earth Day Celebration began earlier this week and continues today with nature crafts programs for children at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and an "Animal Discovery" session at 11 a.m. Both activities are free with regular paid admission to the Center ($5 for adults, $3 for children age 4 to 12.)
In addition, at 1:30 p.m. today, there will be an hour-long program for children on "Sharks and Minnows." Tomorrow at the same time, it's "Explore the Shore." The cost for these programs is $4 per child in addition to regular admission, and advance registration is suggested.
Tonight at 7 p.m., adults are invited to attend a free talk on the diamondback terrapin, while children age 3 to 6 can hear a bedtime story about nature ($5 program fee).
On Saturday, the center celebrates "Renewable Energy Day," with a schedule of family-friendly activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Among the events planned are stories for children by "Mother Nature" at 11 a.m., and a bluegrass music concert from 1 to 3 p.m. The center will unveil its new exhibit on solar energy. On this day, people who ride bicycles to the center will be admitted free; the East Bay Bicycle Path has a well-marked boardwalk access path into the Center property.
Earth Day celebrations are scheduled this weekend all over the state; here are some suggestions:
RECURRING VENUES
Audubon Society of Rhode Island's Environmental Education Center, 1401 Hope St. (Route 114), Bristol. 245-7500; www.asri.org.
Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Ave., Providence. 785-3510; www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org.
THURSDAY-FRIDAY
Audubon Society of Rhode Island's Environmental Education Center.
Nature Crafts for Children of All Ages, 10 am, 3 pm.
Animal Discovery, 11 am.
Conservation in Action, Roger Williams Park Zoo. Discovery Stations, the care and feeding of animals; Yackety Yak, lectures and demonstrations from zookeepers and docents; Get Crafty for Conservation, crafts for kids. 11 am-3 pm. Free with zoo admission.
THURSDAY
Audubon Society of Rhode Island's Environmental Education Center.
Nature Program: Sharks and Minnows. 1:30 pm. $4, members $3.
Goodnight Nature. The story Rabbits and Raindrops, snacks and activities, kids wear pajamas. $5, $4 members. Ages 3 to 6. 7 pm. Call to register. Adults must accompany children.
--FREE-- Diamondback Terrapins Lecture. The Barrington Land Conservation Trust's Charlotte Sornborger lectures on the behavior and habits of the species. 7 pm.
FRIDAY
Nature Program: Explore the Shore, Audubon Society of Rhode Island's Environmental Education Center. 1:30 pm. $4, members $3.
SATURDAY
Audubon Society of Rhode Island's Environmental Education Center. Earth Day Celebration with a new solar exhibit, storytelling, children's puppet shows, bluegrass music and guided walks. $5, $4 members; $3 child 4-12, $2 child members. Free if you ride your bike to the center.
10 am-4 pm. Games, activities and demonstrations, live animal presentations, guided walks, crafts for children.
11 am. Meet Mother Nature.
12:30, 1:30 pm. Sparky's Puppets: How and Why Animal Tales.
1-3 pm. Bluegrass music.
2 pm. Burt the Raccoon.
3 pm. Native American Storytelling by Wampanoag member Dancing Star.
Earth Day Cleanup, Brownell House, Little Compton Commons. 635-8874, 635-4632. The Sogkonate and Little Compton garden clubs hold a roadside and beach litter collection. 9 am. Trash bags available.
GreenUp KleenUp, Pawtucket. Bags and gloves provided, volunteers are asked to bring their own tools, rakes, shovels or brooms. Volunteers are invited afterward to a post-clean-up party at Woodlawn Community Center.
Neighborhood Alliance of Pawtucket, Woodlawn Community Center, 210 West Ave. 724-8915. 9 am.
Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation, Community Garden, corner Broad and Nickerson streets. 726-1173. 10 am.
Slater Mill, 67 Roosevelt Ave. 725-8638. 9 am.
Healthy Planet, Healthy People, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, 109 Pequotsepos Rd., Mystic, Conn. (860) 536-1216. Children's entertainment, activities, nature demonstrations, hiking, food and the Worm Ladies of South County. 10 am-3 pm. $6, $4 children.
Rhode Island's Official Earth Day Celebration, Roger Williams Park Zoo. Finale to Conservation Week, focusing on community efforts at conservation and with activities, lectures and an environmental fair.
Volunteers Needed, Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association is holding cleanups at several sites in South County and needs help. Contact Danielle Aube at 539-9017 or danielle [at] wpwa.org for sites. Bags, gloves and bottled water will be supplied. 9 am-noon.
APRIL 30
Earth Day Festival, Louttit Library, Victory Highway, and the Park & Ride, Hopkins Hill Road. 397-3434. Volunteers sign up for litter clean-up at one of the locations 9-9:30 am. From 10 am-2 pm there will be displays, food, music seedling giveaways at the library. Rain date May 1.