The Lawrence Nature Center’s summer weekly “Family Night” program is set to kick off July 2, when visitors will learn everything from how to start a home composting program, to how to upcycle discarded items and how to make Mexican paper flowers.
The programs, which are free, are held at the Lawrence Nature Center at 481 Drexel Avenue. The programs start at 7 p.m. and are expected to last about 60 to 90 minutes.
John Dix will get the Family Night series under way July 2, when he explains the benefits of a home composting program and how to start one. Home composting helps to reduce the amount of household waste and also provides nutrients for the garden.
In a similar vein, Melissa Roe-Torres will show visitors how to compost with worms at the July 9 program. The process is called vermicomposting, and uses worms to help turn food waste into a resource. Families can take home their own miniature worm farm.
On July 16, Charlotte Michaluk will perform magic by turning trash into treasures. She will take commonly discarded items and, using creativity, show how to turn them into personalized treasures through “upcycling.”
Families will decorate and build everything from hair clips to containers – or whatever they want to create – and take it home with them. Through the process, they will learn about upcycling and how it helps the environment.
Materials will be provided, or they can bring their own material – plastic bags, disposable drink bottles and packaging.
The July 23 Family Night will rock, as rockhound David Bosted takes visitors on a “rock odyssey.”
Wrapping up the July Family Night program on July 23, Teresita Bastides-Heron and Virginia Tomat will show how to make Mexican paper flowers. Visitors can make a bouquet of paper flowers.
Additional Family Night programs will be held in August.
The Lawrence Nature Center is set on 45 acres of land, including the 36-acre Drexel Woods, at 481 Drexel Avenue. The property was acquired by Lawrence Township in 1998, and the Lawrence Nature Center was dedicated in 2004.