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AUDUBON SOCIETY PROGRAMS

Audubon Society of Rhode Island. 949-5454, ext. 3041; www.asri.org. Advance registration.

•Aug. 18. Kimball at the Shore: Salt Marsh Birds, Quonochontaug Breachway, Charlestown. Observe the waders and songbirds of the marsh along with migrating shorebirds with Kimball Wildlife Refuge naturalist Mary Jo Murray. Meet in the Breachway parking area at the end of West Beach Road, Charlestown. 6 pm-dark. Free. Ages 12+.

•Aug. 19. Shorebirds of Rhode Island, Caratunk Wildlife Refuge, 301 Brown Ave., Seekonk. Program about the shorebirds that visit the state during migration including interesting facts and identification tips. 7-9 pm. $12, members $8. Ages 12+.

•Aug. 19. Bird Walk. Led by Mary Jo Murray and Phil Budlong. Meet at the Charlestown Mini-Super, Route 1A, Charlestown. 8 am. Call Mary Jo at 783-9191 or e-mail Phil at blp8391@yahoo.com. Free. For adults.

•Aug. 20. Summer Cruising with the Sea Princess: A Taste of Provence. Dinner cruise departs from Wickford Town Dock, Wickford. 7 pm. $49, members $42. 21+. Final registration is three days before the program.

•Aug. 21. Bat Night, Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge, Pardon Joslin Road, Exeter. Presentation on facts and myths about bats that live in Rhode Island followed by a night hike in search of these furry flying creatures. Meet in the barn; bring a flashlight. 7-9 pm. $12, children $6; members $8, $4. Ages 10+.

•Aug. 23. Ecotour Van Trip: Dinosaur Footprint State Park, Rocky Hill, Conn. Display of early Jurassic fossil tracks that were made 200 million years ago; other exhibits, nature trails, films. Pack a lunch; no food service at site. Van leaves Powder Mill Ledges, 12 Sanderson Rd., Smithfield, at 8 am; returns 2 pm. $20, children $15; members $15, children $10. Ages 5+.

•Aug. 23. Taking the Mystery Out of Mushrooming, Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge, Pardon Joslin Road, Exeter. Introductory lecture on mushroom identification followed by a walk in the woods with an Audubon guide to find mushrooms growing in the wild. After, sample gourmet dishes that are prepared using a variety of cultivated “wild” mushrooms. Meet in the barn. Collecting mushrooms on Audubon property is prohibited. 10 am-1 pm. $25, members $20. Ages 12+.

•Aug. 24. Shorebird Trip. Visit many of Rhode Island’s migrating shorebirds hot spots. Explore the mudflats of Ninigret Pond, Quonochontaug Pond, Succotash Marsh and more and see sandpipers, plovers, terns and wading birds. Be prepared to get wet up to your waist for this program. Pack a lunch, wear water shoes or old sneakers and bring a towel and bug repellent. 7 am-4 pm. $50, members $40. Ages 12+.

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

ASRI Environmental Education Center Programs, 1401 Hope St. (Route 114), Bristol. 245-7500; www.asri.org. $6; $5 ages 65+; $4 children 4-12; children under 4 and ASRI members free. Programs are free with admission unless noted otherwise and are for ages 3+.

•Aug. 17. Tidepool Treasures. Observe the animals that survive in tidepools and walk to the shore to see the creatures’ habitats. Dress to get wet; bring you nature detective tools. 11:30 am-1 pm.

•Aug. 20-21. Discovery Stations. Children get to take a closer look at nature. Weekly themes include birds, insects, tidepool, whales, mammals and more. 10 am-2 pm.

• Aug. 21. A Night Outdoors at the Movies: Wild Kingdom. 8 pm. Bring your blanket, lawn chairs, snacks. Rain site: center auditorium.

•Aug. 22. Outdoor Nature Story Reading, 10 am.

•Aug. 22-23. Nature Craft Table. 10 am-2 pm. Ages 3+.

•Aug. 23. Nature Treasure Mystery. Discover what mysteries nature has to offer. Follow clues, take a hike, go on a scavenger hunt or discover the exhibit hall. 12:30-1:30 pm.

•Aug. 24. Insects and Spiders, Oh My!. Discover the differences between insects and spiders and join a scavenger hunt to find live creepy crawlies in their outdoor habitats.

Aug. 21. Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center Program: Summertime Cottontails, 109 Pequotsepos Rd., Mystic, Conn. (860) 536-1216; www.dpnc.org. Walden Preserve, Salem. Look for animals, unusual plants and other sights. Ages 1 (walking)-4 with caregiver. 10 am. $10, members $7. Advance registration.

EXHIBITS

Through Aug. 22. Tiverton Town Hall, 343 Highland Rd., Tiverton. Home and Away, exhibition of nature photographs by Harry Glaser. Mon-Fri 8:30 am-4 pm.

Through August. Patriot’s Pride Daylily Show, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Worcester County Horticultural Society, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Mass. (508) 869-6111; www.towerhillbg.org. Display of thousands of daylilies with more than 100 varieties. Continues through August. Tue-Sat 10 am-5 pm. $8, 65+/youth 6-18, $5, children 5 and younger free. Tours every Sunday, 2 pm.

Through Sept. 1. Biomes Marine Biology Center, 221 Shady Lea Rd., North Kingstown. 295-4690. Marine exhibits, hands-on activities for children ages 3+ with adult accompaniment. Daily noon-4 pm. $5, children 2 and younger free.

Through Sept. 1. Flutterby: Butterflies in Bloom, Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Ave., Providence. 785-3510; www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org. New walk-through exhibit is set inside a 2,100-square-foot greenhouse landscaped with butterfly-friendly flowers and nectar plants and featuring about 500 butterflies (North American species), offering visitors a close encounter. Daily 9:30 am-4:30 pm. $3, children 3-12 $2 in addition to zoo admission ($12, seniors $8, children 3-12 $6).

Through Oct. 31. Big Bugs Sculpture Exhibit and Web-of-Life Extravaganza, New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Rd., Framingham, Mass. (508) 877-7630; www.newenglandwild.org. David Rogers’ dino-sized sculptures on 45 acres with 1,500 varieties of native plants. Daily 9 am-7 pm. $8, seniors/students $6, youth 3-18 $4; members/children 2 and younger free.

Through Oct. 13. Green Animals Topiary Garden, 380 Cory’s Lane (off Route 114), Portsmouth. 847-1000. 80 pieces of topiary, including geometric figures, ornamental design, 21 animals, birds; fruit and vegetable gardens, plant shop, picnic tables. Victorian toy museum in main residence. Self-guided garden tours daily 10 am-5 pm. $11, children 6-17 $4.

Through Dec. 31. Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Rd., Sturbridge, Mass. Taking Root: The Growing Business of Gardening in Pots in the 1800s, exhibit invites exploration of the art and business of gardening in flowerpots in 19th-Century New England. Daily 9:30 am-5 pm. Free with village admission. $20, 65+ $18, youth $6, children 2 and younger free.

GARDEN PROGRAMS

Aug. 19. Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Organic Lawn and Turf Workshop (4th annual), University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Rd., North Dartmouth, Mass. One-day, intensive program provides state-of-the-art information for managing lawns and turf organically and is geared toward land care professionals, groundskeepers and municipalities who are responsible for the establishment and care of grass, as well as anyone interested in learning organic methods. 8 am-5 pm. Register at www.organiclandcare.net or contact program coordinator Katy Litchfield at (413) 773-3830 or kathylitch29@yahoo.com.

Aug. 19. University of Rhode Summer Gardening School: Backyard Composting, URI Botanical Gardens, 3 East Alumnae Ave., and URI’s East Farm Research Facility, Route 108, both in Kingston. (800) 448-1011 or e-mail gardener@etal.uri.edu. Program includes information on the latest techniques to make backyard composting easy and efficient and on the environmental benefits of composting. With Don Holder, a certified Rhode Island Master Composter and Recycler. 6-7:30 pm. $15. Advance registration.

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum, 101 Ferry Rd., Bristol. 253-2707, ext. 21; www.blithewold.org. Advance reservations.

•Aug. 20. North Garden Soiree. Stroll the gardens and grounds, chat with staff horticulturists, folk and Celtic music by Barnacle, New Zealand wine. 5 pm-dusk. $25 per person, $35 per couple. Bring picnic, blankets or chairs. In event of rain, soiree held indoors.

•Aug. 24. Fairy Magic in the Garden. Family program for adult-children groups with gardens manager Gail Read. Participants spend the afternoon in the Water Garden creating tiny fairy houses out of natural materials and found objects to entice fairies to visit; listen to stories about fairy lore and other woodland mysteries. 1 pm. Bring a blanket; light snack provided. $7, members $5.

LECTURES

Aug. 18. Golden Wings and Hairy Toes: Encounters with New England’s Most Imperiled Wildlife, Weaver Library, 41 Grove Ave., East Providence. 434-2453 or email jmay@eplib.org. Slide presentation by natural history writer Todd McLeish. McLeish talks about his adventures of trapping bats in Vermont and lynx in Maine, being attacked by marauding birds in Massachusetts, and observing the metamorphosis of dragonflies in Rhode Island, as well as other wildlife adventures.7 pm. Free.

Aug. 20. Wildlife Caught on Video: Examples from Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuges, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Kettle Pond Visitors’ Center, 50 Bend Rd., Charlestown. 364-9124. Lecture/video presentation by Gerry Krausse, a video photographer and aprofessor emeritus from the University of Rhode Island Department of Marine Affairs. Presentation showcases selections of close-up video of local birds and animals, set to music. 7 pm. Free; donations accepted to benefit the Friends of the National Wildlife Refuges of Rhode Island. Part of the Wildlife Wednesday Lecture Series.

NATURE PROGRAMS

Nature Conservancy Programs. 529-1072 or e-mail tmooney@tnc.org. Free. Advance registration.

Aug. 17. Butterfly Walk. Meet at the conservancy’s Francis Carter Preserve, Old Mill Road, Charlestown. 529-1072 or e-mail tmooney@tnc.org. Two-mile walk around a large open field to look for colorful butterflies and dragonflies. 2 pm.

Aug. 26. Family Evening Walk. Two-mile walk through the forest; search for creatures among the stone walls and oak woods. Meet at the parking lot, Route 112, Charlestown. 6 pm.

Aug. 22. Save the Bay Outdoor Luau, Whole Foods Market, 261 Waterman St., Providence. 272-16909. Meet representative from Save the Bay, have a beverage from locally made Stirrings Drink Mixers, live music, food, prizes. 4-7 pm.

Aug. 23. New Dawn Earth Center/Crystal Spring Earth Learning Center Local Food Fest, Crystal Spring, 76 Everett Skinner Road, Plainville, Mass. (508) 699-7167. Get-together to celebrate community gardens and local, sustainable food practices. 1-4 pm. Donation is a pot luck dish made with local foods.

Aug. 23. Save the Bay Ultimate Lighthouse Tour. 272-3540; www.savebay.org. Explore the lighthouses of Narragansett Bay aboard the Alletta Morris. Sail down the West Passage to Newport and return home via East Passage viewing more than a dozen active and inactive lighthouses. Cruise departs from the Save the Bay Center, 100 Save the Bay Drive, Providence, 9 am; returns 4 pm. Lunch, binoculars provided. Bring hat, sunscreen and light outerwear. $100, members $85. Advance reservations. Cruise not deterred by light rain.

Aug. 23. Rhode Island Wild Plant Society Program: Weed Identification, University of Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station, Kingston. 789-7497; www.riwps.org. Carl Sawyer, a plant physiology and research associate at the University of Rhode Island Experiment Station, discusses how to key out weeds using Weeds of the Northeast by Uva, Neal and DiTomasso. Program includes keying out specimens brought in by participants, looks at weed communities at the Station, and includes a discussion on management strategies. Hand lens helpful. 9 am-noon. Rain or shine.

Whale Watching. Aboard Frances Fleet vessel The Lady Frances. Trips sail from the Port of Galilee in front of Port O Call Restaurant, Great Road, Narragansett. Tue, Thu-Sun 1 pm. Reservations recommended. 783-4988.