Last month, Joe White, of Warwick, tried the paddle trail from East Providence to Providence. On Friday, a second trail will be inaugurated at Weaver Cove Boat launch, Portsmouth.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

On Friday morning, many of the state’s top political leaders are expected to climb into kayaks and help inaugurate another “blue trail” in Rhode Island, this one extending from Portsmouth to Newport.

An official launch and news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at the Weaver Cove Boat Launch, which is off Burma Road in Portsmouth.

The launch is one of nine that will be established, all part of the West Side Master Plan that the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission has prepared to make use of more than 400 acres of Navy property.

The new trail follows creation last month of a so-called Roger Williams Paddle Trail running from East Providence to downtown Providence.

Tina Dolen, director of the planning commission, said the public is welcome at the event, either to view it from shoreside or to join with properly equipped kayaks.

Confirmed to take part are U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, Coastal Resources Management Council Chairman Michael Tikoian, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Director Michael Sullivan and State Sen. Majority Leader Teresa Paiva-Weed.

Paddling is expected to begin at 10:30 a.m., after about a half-hour of presentations and speeches.

Details of the new kayak route can be found by looking at the West Side Master Plan at http://www.aquidneckplanning.org/.

Group to meet on green building

A new U.S. Green Building Council Group has formed in Rhode Island and will meet Thursday from 4:30 to 6 p.m., at the New England Institute of Technology’s student lounge, 2480 Post Rd., Warwick. Future meetings are slated for the third Thursday of each month.

Meetings are open to anyone interested in learning more about green building, green products and getting involved in green building awareness. The keynote address will be given by Paul Arpin, president of Arpin International Group.

RSVP by e-mailing cmcgreavy@conservebydesign.com

Easton’s Pond group to meet

The Friends of Easton’s Pond will meet Wednesday at 4 p.m., at the Middletown Public Library.

The purpose of the meeting is to explore ways of encouraging citizens to become advocates for the watersheds on the island.

Meg Kerr, watershed outreach coordinator for the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program based at the University of Rhode Island, will lead a panel discussion. Keith Gonsalves, president of the Ten Mile River Watershed Council, and Steve Insana, president of the Buckeye Brook Coalition, are on the panel and will share their experiences.

Two questions will be addressed: Who is now responsible for protecting watersheds, and are special ordinances needed for properties in the watersheds?

Photos of refuges sought for contest

The eighth annual photo competition designed to highlight the beauty of the state’s five National Wildlife Refuges is now under way. The deadline for entries is Friday.

Photographs are accepted in the following categories: refuge wildlife, refuge flora, refuge wildlife habitat/landscape and people participating in refuge activities.

Amateur photographers are encouraged to submit their existing refuge color photographs or take new ones. The color photographs must be 8-by-10 or 8-by-12, matted in white 11-by-14 mats and unframed. There is a maximum limit of four photographs per contestant.

The entry fee is $10 and checks should be made payable to the Friends of the NER-RI. Photographs may be delivered, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., to the Friends of the National Wildlife Refuges Rhode Island office at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center, 50 Bend Rd., Charlestown, or to the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Middletown. Photographs may also be mailed to the Friends of the NWR-RI, 50 Bend Rd., Charlestown, RI 02813.

All photographs entered will be exhibited at the Courthouse Center for the Arts in West Kingston. The photographs will be judged by a panel of photographers prior to the opening reception at the center on Sept. 14. First-, second- and third-place winners will be chosen in each of the four categories. The Best of Show will be awarded $100; other prizes will also be awarded.

For more information, call (401) 364-9254 or send an e-mail to Rthieke@cox.net.

Audubon offers summer programs

The Audubon Society of Rhode Island is offering summer programs for nature enthusiasts of all ages. Highlights for the coming weeks include:

•The Audubon Environmental Book Club will meet Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bristol group will meet Tuesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Audubon Environmental Education Center. The Smithfield group will meet Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Audubon Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge.

The club meets monthly, alternating reading essays and books selected by the groups. Discussion is relaxed and friendly, with no prior environmental knowledge necessary. The program, which is free, is for teens and adults; light refreshments will be served.

For more information, call Judy Lewis at (401) 949-5454, ext. 3044 or send e-mail to jlewis@asri.org.

•Bat Night will be Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Audubon Fisherville Brook Wildlife Refuge in Exeter. A presentation on interesting facts and myths about bats will be followed by a search for the flying creatures. Meet in the barn and bring a flashlight.

The fee is $8 for adult members, $12 for nonmembers, $4 for child members and $6 for nonmember children. To register, call (401) 949-5454, ext. 3041, or by e-mail to programs@asri.org.

•At Night Outdoors at the Movies will be Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Audubon Environmental Education Center in Bristol. Episodes from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom will be featured. Bring blankets and lawn chairs. In case of inclement weather, movies will be shown in the auditorium.

The fee is $10 for a family of four, and the program is for all ages. To register, call (401) 949-5454, ext. 3041, or send e-mail to programs@asri.org.

•A trip to Dinosaur Footprint State Park in Rocky Hill, Conn., is scheduled for Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Dinosaur Footprint State Park is one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America. Beneath a geodesic dome is a display of early Jurassic fossil tracks made 200 million years ago. Pack a lunch; there is no food service on site.

The van leaves Powder Mill Ledges at 8 a.m. and leaves the park to return home at 2 p.m.

The fee for the trip is $15 for adult members, $20 adult nonmembers, $10 for child member, $15 for child nonmembers. To register, call (401) 949-5454, ext. 3041, or send e-mail to programs@asri.org.

Crafts, movies at Kettle Pond

The Kettle Pond Visitor Center, 50 Bend Rd., Charlestown, is offering the following children’s activities:

•Friday is Craft Day for ages 6 to 12. Meet at the visitor center at 2 p.m. to make leaf prints. Call (401) 364-9124, ext. 48 to register.

•Saturday is Movie Time for all ages. Meet in the visitor center’s theater at 10:15 a.m. for a viewing of Dreamworks’ Madagascar. No registration is necessary.

•Also Saturday: A nature hike and tree planting for ages 6 to 12 is scheduled for 3 p.m. Meet naturalist Kate Eastman at Burlingame. Call (401) 364-9124, ext. 48, to register.

U.S. grant helps monitor beaches

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a $209,650 grant to the Rhode Island Department of Health to improve and expand water-quality monitoring and notification at the state’s public saltwater beaches. The financing was made available through the federal Beach Act of 2000, which requires coastal states to monitor beaches.

Including this year’s grant, Rhode Island since 2001 has received $1,546,600 to implement its program.

Including grants to other New England coastal states, this grant brings the cumulative amount awarded in the region to more than $8 million.

Since Memorial Day, more than a quarter of Rhode Island’s 69 saltwater beaches have experienced closures, some multiple times. The EPA’s Clean New England Beaches Initiative has helped states and local beach managers find and eliminate pollution sources that cause beach closures.

The Environmental Journal is a listing of brief news items about the actions of individuals, organizations and businesses that affect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the landscape that surrounds us. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact environment reporter Peter B. Lord at (401) 277-8036, or by e-mail at plord@projo.com or by writing him, care of The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902.