The Natural World

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

– Sat. Map ‘n’ Compass, Powder Mill Ledges Refuge, 12 Sanderson Rd., Smithfield. Family program about the basics of using a compass includes combine the use of a map and compass, instruction on how to navigate over distances, and a trip outdoors to find your way over a short orienteering course. 1-4 pm. $18, children $12; members $12, children 8. Ages. 9+.

– Sat. Prudence Island Nature Journal Workshop, Prudence Island. Discover Prudence Island and learn sketchbook journaling with artist Nan Carey, a drawing/painting instructor at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Meet 9:45 am at the Bristol Ferry for a 30-minute ride to the island. Upon arrival, take a short van ride to the Reserve’s Lab and Learning Center to explore exhibits and Prudence Island art displays. After a short session covering the basics of sketchbook journaling, head out and tour the island by van with stops along the way to sketch and write. Points of interest include an old naval T- Wharf, a one-room schoolhouse, farms, stonewalls, salt marshes, beaches and an abandoned mansion. Ferry ride back to Bristol arriving by 4:30 pm. Bring sketchbook, color pencils, watercolors pencils and/or portable watercolor paints and brushes, pencil and eraser, scotch tape. Folding camp chair, a packed lunch, water, insect and tick repellent, comfortable foot wear and dress for the weather. Bring $7.50 for roundtrip ferry tickets.$20, members $16. 12+.

– Sat. Summer Cruising with the Sea Princess: A Taste of Tuscany Culinary Cruise. Dinner cruise departs from Wickford Town Dock, Wickford. 1:30-3:30 pm). $49, members $42. 21+. Final registration is three days before the program.

– Sat. September Butterfly Walk, Napatree Point, Westerly. Outing includes a 1.5 mile walk to the dunes to observe the migration of monarch butterflies. Van leaves from society’s Smithfield location, 12 Sanderson Rd., at 10 am, with a second pick-up at the Park and Ride, Routes 138 and 95, Richmond, at 10:35 am. Bring a lunch and binoculars. $15, members $12. Ages 10+.

Audubon Society of Rhode Island 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+. Advance registration.

– Thu-Fri. Preschool Story Time: An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni. Reading of a nature story with hands on activities followed by a nature craft. 10 am, 1 pm. Adults must accompany children. $6, members $5. Ages 3-5.

– Sun. Exhibit Opening. Coming Home to Nature: Photography by Branden Michaux. Opening reception, Sun 1-3 pm. Regular run daily 9 am-5 pm, through Oct. 12.

Exhibit Opening: Nature Day at Pardon Gray, Tiverton Town Hall, 343 Highland Rd., Tiverton. Works by student photographers of the preserve’s natural wonders. Opening reception Sun2-4 pm. Regular run, Mon-Fri 8:30 am-4 pm.

New Dawn Earth Center Program: The Forest’s Invitation to Global Climate Change, 75 Wrentham Rd., Cumberland. 333-1341; www.newdawnearthcenter.org. Nature walk through the center’s woods with discussion on global climate change. Sat 9:30 am-noon. Free program funded by the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund.Advance registration.

Rhode Island Wild Plant Society Program: Easy Paddle, North Kingstown. 789-7497; www.riwps.org. Canoe or kayak to view bidens laevis (tickseed) in bloom. Get close up look of this flower in the Asteraceae family by paddling around Secret Lake and experience the feeling of being in a meadow of sunflowers while being the water. Sat 10 am. With leader Sindy Hempstead. $7, members $5. Advance registration.

Skyscrapers Amateur Astronomical Society Meeting, Seagrave Observatory, 47 Peep Toad Rd., North Scituate. www.theskyscrapers.org. Chasing Shadows: Occultation Surveys of the Outer Solar System, by Federica Bianco of the Center for Astrophysics of Harvard University. Fri7:30 pm. Public viewing Sat 8- 10 pm, weather permitting.

Trustees of Reservations Wild Edible Plants Walk, Copicut Woods, Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve, Town Road, Fall River. (508) 679-2115, ext. 11 or e-mail www.thetrustees.org. Instructional walk led by Linton Harrington focuses on edible plants with tips on identification, edible portions and preparation methods for each plant as well as guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging. Tree nuts, wild berries, leaves and roots will be seen and sampled during the walk. Sat 1-3 pm. Free.

Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council Canoe/Kayak Trip. 861- 9046 or e-mail jsullivan@wrwc.org. Thu 5:30 pm. Trip (3 1/2 miles round trip) through the downtown portion of the Woonasquatucket River. Easy paddle from South Water Street to Atwells Avenue and back. Travels past some old mills, as well as through Waterplace Park and past downtown Providence where the Woonasquatucket River meets the Moshassuck River to form the Providence River. Audubon Society of Rhode Island naturalist Eugenia Marks talks about the wildlife in the lower river and the challenges wildlife faces in this part of the river. Some canoes/kayaks available to borrow; participants encouraged to bring their own. Life jackets provided for borrowed boats but must be brought by the paddlers if they use their own boats. Suggested donation of $10 per person for participants use a WRWC boat; other donations welcome. Bring a flashlight for put-in around sunset (due to Coast Guard regulations). Advance sign-up required. Part of a series of paddling events called Explore the Woonasquatucket.

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