Here it is mid-July in Rhode Island -- the weather forecast looks great, the beaches are open, the first local sweet corn and blueberries are turning up at farmstands, a sweet soft breeze is blowing -- it doesn't get much better. Turn off your TV, unplug the kids, and spend your days under the sky.

You can start the weekend tonight, with a butterly identification workshop at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center, or listen to stories about local wildlife from R.I. author Todd McLeish at the ASRI Env Ed Center in Bristol, or learn about fireflies at Audubon's HQ in Smithfield. Details about all of these events and many more, at our NNN Community Calendar. And at 9 p.m., don't miss your chance to view Saturn and Mars through the big telescope at Ladd Observatory -- scroll down on NNN for details of that event.

The Coastal Growers Market at Casey Farm offers free yoga Saturday morning at 8, to start off Aquaculture Day. You can celebrate with some fresh Matunuck oysters.  Or you can go for a paddle in Pawtuxet Cove with the folks from Save The Bay, 9 to noon, click here for info. Or join up with the active Appalachian Mountain Club folks to kayak in Ninigret Pond, bike ride in Newport, or hike in New Hampshire, details are at our NNN Community Calendar.

At Garden in the Woods, in Framingham, Mass., a new Big Bugs exhibit opens on Saturday and runs through the fall. Besides giant sculptures of real insects, the project includes lots of classes and special events for kids. All this plus back yards, barbecues, sweet corn, watermelon, sunsets, and the Bay -- who needs to travel?

photo courtesy of Save The Bay

When it comes to moving in a green direction, technology is a big part of the answer. We can build more efficient homes and communities, it just takes a little creative thinking and motivation. Working to build that motivation and create connections is an organization called the Green Building Council, and they are organizing a new chapter here in Rhode Island.

The RI group has already met a few times, and it's attracting a large and diverse group of architects, designers, builders, eco-advocates, and policy makers. You're invited! Come check out the next meeting, on July 17. Guest speaker is Barbara Batshalom, founder of the Green Roundtable in Massachusetts, which promotes sustainable design practices. Barbara will talk about the NEXUS green building resource center, which provides space to exhibit green products and host events, and is home to a library of resources and materials samples - a model the organizers of the RI group would like to replicate.

The group meets next Thursday, July 17, a week from today, in the student lounge at the New England Institute of Technology, 2480 Post Road, Warwick, 4:30 to 6 pm, with professional networking 6:00pm - 6:30pm. Registraton opens at 4. To RSVP, or for more info, contact Connie McGreavy, Conserve By Design LLC, 401-862-3158, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it The group will meet monthly, on the third Thursday, and coincides with the Providence Green Drinks group. Check NNN next week for details about July Green Drinks!

Green Zone is a term we hear all too often in the Iraq war news.... an oasis, at least theoretically, amid a mass of chaos and destruction. But here in Providence, a few creative souls have co-opted the term and bent it around to describe a whole different thing -- an organic vegetable, herb, and flower garden planted in what they describe as "the detritus of wartime consumption: used tires, shopping bags, shoes, and other repurposed containers."

Six tires that were pulled out of the Woonasquatucket River during the Earth Day cleanup in April now overflow with herbs, kale, beet greens, lettuce, gourds, beans, radishes, turnips, and flowers. The work -- and the bounty -- is shared by a coalition of the willing at Firehouse 13.

Sarah Zurier created the Green Zone concept, you can visit all summer long at Firehouse 13, 41 Central Street, in Providence.  And check out Sarah's GreenZoneGarden blog, where you can learn more about the project and check out other related topics like Victory Gardens, tire gardens, edible landscapes, and more.