All events are free unless otherwise indicated.

COMING UP

NATURE SOAP-MAKING CLASS, on creating soap using leaves and other plant parts, 9:30-11:30 a.m. March 10, Foster Botanical Garden: $15, plus garden admission; registration required, 522-7064.

"WHEN DESIGNING MARINE RESERVES, GENETIC RESEARCH CAN PRESERVE" one of a series of March lectures, sponsored by the UH Sea Grant, Hanauma Bay Education Program, on the marine research facility, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, 6:30 p.m. March 12; Hanauma Bay Education Center theater; free (free parking after 5:30 p.m.); 397-5840.I

"WE ARE TURNING GREEN," on conservation and sustainable solutions, one of the "Stepping Stones" classes sponsored by Lyon Arboretum and Garden Club of Honolulu, 9:30-11:30 a.m. March 13, Arboretum, 3860 Manoa Road; $10;register: 988-0461; www.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum.

AMY GREENWELL GARDEN TOUR, with emphasis on collection of native Hawaiian plants, and traditional cultural uses; 10-11:30 a.m. March 14, Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, Captain Cook, Big Island; free; 808-323-3318.

"BOTTLE BIOLOGY," activities for kids six years and up, exploring science and the environment with soda bottles and recyclable materials, 1:30-3:30 p.m. March 15, Hawai'i Nature Center; $20, each nonmember parent/child team (bring three 2-liter bottles of same brand/with caps); 955-0100.

"PICTURING NATURE," a two-hour activity allowing participants to observe nature through a photographic slideshow set to music, or to express individual visions of nature in Makiki Valley's rainforest, through poetry, art or photography, 4-6 p.m. March 11, Hawai'i Nature Center; $20/parent /child team; 955-0100.

BE A GREENIE

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for annual Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, 2009 Whale Ocean Count, 8:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. March 28 at selected sites on O'ahu, Kaua'i and Big Island; no advance training required (except a free training session for Kaua'i site leaders); registration required: 397-2651, ext. 253 O'ahu, 888-55-WHALE (94253), ext. 253 Big Island, and 808-246-2860 Kaua'i.

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR 2009 KAUA'I GREEN GIANT AWARDS, offered by Rotary Club of Kapa'a, Kaua'i, for eco-friendly residents in a number of areas — solar, energy efficiency, recycling, travel, eco-activism and more; nomination essay deadline, April 1; Rodney Pascua, 808-482-0980, http://www.kapaarotary.org.

LYON ARBORETUM WORK DAYS, to weed and remove invasive plants with the facility's grounds crew, 8:30 a.m.-noon, first Saturdays, monthly; Ray Baker, 988-0455.

Niaulani nature walk, guided tour through an old-growth forest; 9:30 a.m. Mondays; from Volcano Art Center, Niaulani campus, Volcano Village, Big Island; 808-967-8222, www.volcanoartcenter.org.

TUESDAYS AT KANAHA, weekly beach cleanup and plant maintenance, coordinated by Community Pride at Kanaha Beach Park, Maui, 8-10 a.m. Tuesdays, at the park; Valerie Vines Magee, 808-264-1454.

GREEN DRINKS, an informal networking for people in the environmental field, 5-9 p.m. first Tuesday of each month; Du Vin Restaurant, Chinatown; 351-2891.

WEED AND POT CLUB, Maui Nui Botanical Garden's Weed & Pot Club meets 8:30-10:30 a.m. Wednesdays, 150 Kanaloa Ave., Kahului, Maui, to do beautification and maintenance work; tools, gloves, drinking water provided; wear shoes; 808-249-2798.

FREE GARDEN MULCH, available 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, Halawa Xeriscape Garden; bring containers and shovel; 748-5041, www.boardofwatersupply.com.