What Grows On in Rhode Island News

Outdoors in RI ~ Weekend Highlights ~ April 9-10, 2011

Find details about this weekend's highlights in What Grows On in Rhode Island!

{sorry, the links below don't work this time, but they all work on What Grows On in RI!}

Friday, April 8, 2011
		Date	Event	Town/City (RI)	Time
		4/8/2011	Ask Not What Your Country Can Feed You ~ Ask What You Can Feed Your Country	Providence	6:30pm
		4/8/2011	AMC ~ Annual Potluck Social for New/Current/Prospective Members	Providence	6:30pm
Saturday, April 9, 2011
		Date	Event	Town/City (RI)	Time
		4/9/2011	Eco-Depot ~ E-Waste Collection	Johnston	8am
		4/9/2011	2011 Native Plant Conference	North Kingstown	8am
		4/9/2011	AMC ~ Fence and Trail Work Project	Providence	9am
		4/9/2011	Buckeye Brook Coalition 14th Annual Earth Day Clean-Up Weekend Over 10 sites throughout Warwick!	Warwick	9am
		4/9/2011	Community Clean-Up	Providence	9am
		4/9/2011	Tree Planting	Providence	9am
		4/9/2011	RI Rose Society ~ Rose Garden Work Day	Providence	9:30am
		4/9/2011	RI Families in Nature hike	Providence	11am
Sunday, April 10, 2011
		Date	Event	Town/City (RI)	Time
		4/10/2011	9th Annual Imagine Walk and Family Fun Day for Autism	Warwick	9am
		4/10/2011	AMC ~ Hike with Dogs at Weetamoo Woods Trail	Tiverton	10am
		4/10/2011	Buckeye Brook Coalition 14th Annual Earth Day Clean-Up Weekend ~ Over 10 sites throughout Warwick!	Warwick	1pm

National Audubon Educator's Summer Workshop ~ July 14-19, 2011

The Audubon Camp in Maine, on 330 acre spruce-covered Hog Island, will be the site of Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week, during July14-19, and there are still some openings for teachers, educators, and youth leaders interested in living and learning at a historic and beautiful camp that has been home to Roger Tory Peterson, Rachel Carson, and other great naturalists.

See the Camp website for full information, including photos, videos, cost, staff bios, etc.

A number of participants are receiving partial or full scholarships from National Audubon Society chapters, schools, as well as birding clubs and gardening associations, so if the cost is a challenge, see if you can find a sponsor. This 5 ½ day session will be exciting, fun, and productive. Puffin-viewing, field biology adventures, workshops, art and journaling, music, skits, great food, and great networking.

Staff members include special guest Lynn Cherry, the talented illustrator and author of such books as The River Runs Wild, Flute’s Journey, and The Great Kapok Tree, as well as Jennifer Fee of Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology citizen science programs, famed naturalist Ted Gilman of Audubon Greenwich, Craig Newberger, head of elementary school science at the Germantown Academy, etc. etc. etc.

Join us for an inspiring week, fulfilling, fun, and memorable week on a Maine island! CEU’s available.

Contact Person:

Pete Salmansohn
Education Coordinator
Seabird Restoration Program
National Audubon Society
And Director of Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week
psalmansohn@audubon.org

Kristen Swanberg
Senior Director of Education
Audubon Society of Rhode Island
1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI 02809
Tel: 401-245-7500 ext. 3111
kswanberg@asri.org

BuildEnergy Early Bird Registration Ends ~ February 7, 2011

Register now, while early bird pricing is still in effect. Early bird ends February 7.
 
BuildingEnergy is an annual event organized by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA). It is the nation's oldest and largest regional conference for renewable energy and high performance building professionals, with participants from across the US and Europe. It will take place this year March 8-10, 2011, at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA.

What Grows On in Rhode Island ~ One-Stop Shop for Environmental Activities & News

What Grows On in Rhode Island includes every sort of environment-related event taking place in and for Rhode Island. What Grows On lists hundreds of events, from public meetings to toddler activities, outdoor fun to semester courses, practical workshops to professional meetings. I spend hours each week pulling all this stuff together into one place so you can find out what's "growing on" around here in a couple of minutes.

Every Rhode Islander will find something interesting, but no one will want to see everything. So the Calendar is highly indexed by town, audience, category, and event type, enabling you to zoom in on what interests you the most. Don't forget to use the keyword search.

The Weekly Update Newsletter has highlights from the News Blog, which includes press releases and announcements. You'll see ProvGardener Twitter updates in the right column of the News Blog. These updates include posts to the What Grows On in RI News Blog PLUS news directly from dozens of other RI environmental groups, such as ecoRI, edible RHODY, Digging Rhode Island and Conservation Law Foundation. So much is going on.... What Grows On is working on ways to make it easier to be well informed about Rhode Island's environment.

To Be in the Know
Subscribe to What Grows On Newsletters!

For your convenience, here are links to popular segments of the Calendar, plus this weekend's highlights.

Find something you'd enjoy, and go do it! ~ Sue Korté, Managing Editor

Green Drinks ~ Networking in RI ~ February 2011

See What Grows on in Rhode Island Networking, Leadership Development & Planning SubCalendar for upcoming "green" networking opportunities.

• February 3, Newport Green Drinks
• February 10, South County Green Drinks
• February 17, Providence Green Drinks

Upcoming Environmental Films in RI ~ February 2011

See The What Grows On in RI Books/Films/Plays/Readings SubCalendar for the details of these and other movies. These are only SOME of the films being shown in or near Rhode Island this month. Too many to list!

Taste of the Flower Show Preview Party ~ February 23, 2011

The annual "Taste of the Flower Show" preview party offers guests the opportunity to sample fare from some of the state's finest restaurants against the backdrop of the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show before the show opens to the public. A partial list of participating restaurants, caterers, breweries and wineries is on the RI Community Food Bank website.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Rhode Island Convention Center

Tickets are $75 each. Purchase now.

Great Backyard Bird Count ~ February 18-21, 2011

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds. The count website wi'll be adding updated GBBC materials for the next count as they become available.

The bird count is organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Become A FrogWatcher! ~ February 27, March 24, April 16, 2011

Did you know that frogs & toads are disappearing at an alarming rate across the globe? Get involved by becoming a FrogWatch Volunteer and help scientists keep an eye on Rhode Island frogs & toads.

Due to a number of factors such as habitat loss, pollution & disease, more than one-third of amphibian species are faced with possible extinction.  This has led to what many conservationists call a global amphibian crisis.  Though there don’t appear to be any immediate threats to the species found locally in New England, the monitoring & data collected through the FrogWatch program will help conservationists to keep tabs on these populations and react to any decline much more quickly.

Three Trainings at Roger Williams Park Zoo

February 27      12-2 pm
March 24             6-8 pm
April 16             10 am – 12 pm

To help defray the cost of running this important project, a $10 materials fee will be charged per participating household to cover training materials (a household covers up to 2 adults, and up to two children per adult).

This training will be led by RWPZoo Director of Conservation, Lou Perrotti.  Training will include details on the FrogWatch program, how to identify RI frogs & toads by their calls and FrogWatch procedures.  A test on frog and toad calls is required to complete certification as a FrogWatch volunteer.

Register and more information

 

Apply for the John H. Chafee Conservation Leadership Award ~ Due by February 16, 2011

ECRI EDUCATION FUND APPLICATION FOR CHAFEE AWARD RECOGNITION
 
The Environment Council of Rhode Island Education Fund is honored to announce the application period for the John H. Chafee Conservation Leadership Awards for 2011.  Honoring the memory of the late Governor and US Senator for his dedication to preserving the environment, The ECRI Ed Fund honors 4 Rhode Island organizations each year for their work in improving the health of the Rhode Island environment. 

Recipients are selected by an independent panel of judges based on applications received from RI businesses, non profits, municipalities, and educational institutions that highlight specific projects and programs related to conservation.  Past winners include businesses that eliminated polluting discharges, recycling programs, renewable energy projects, sewage treatment facility upgrades, land conservation, and projects providing hands on environmental education for Rhode Island children. This list is not meant to be an all inclusive list. All projects that improve the health of the RI environment are encouraged to apply.

Applications are due at the Environment Council office by February 16, 2011 and in addition to being a part of this email may be found on the Environment Council website www.environmentcouncilri.org or obtained from the Environment Council via email at environmentcouncil@earthlink.net or by calling 401-621-8048.

Ed Note: The past winners accomplished an impressive array of projects.