Nature-friendly places to go in DFW beginning Feb. 18

▪ Join the nationwide Great Backyard Bird Count, which helps build a birding database for science at the Southwest Nature Preserve, 8-10 a.m. Saturday. No experience is required, and bird ID help will be provided by volunteers. Bring binoculars. The preserve is at 5201 Bowman Springs Road, Arlington.

▪ At 9 a.m. each Saturday, Jason Tamblyn leads a trail running class at the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve. There’s an annual $10 trail running club fee to join. The nature center is at 355 Bob Jones Road, Southlake. 817-491-6333; bjnc.org

▪ River Legacy’s Great Backyard Bird Count family fest will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. It’s free and includes kids activities, such as bird origami and building birdhouses; live raptor demonstrations; story times and hikes. River Legacy Science Center is at 703 N.W. Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington. For more information, call 817-860-6752 or visit www.riverlegacy.org.

▪ Learn how to make container gardens for herbs and vegetables at a free class at 10:15 a.m. Saturday at area Calloway’s locations. www.calloways.com

▪ Take in a “Frog Talk” at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. It’s $5 plus admission ($2-$5), free for members. The monthly Canoe Fest is noon-4 p.m. Sunday. All equipment is provided It’s also $5 plus admission, $3 members. The refuge is at 9601 Fossil Ridge Road, Fort Worth. 817-392-7410; www.fwnaturecenter.org.

▪ Award-winning photographer Bob Brennan will present a “Photographic Look at the Southwest Nature Preserve” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Community Room at the West Arlington Police Station, 2060 W. Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington. Brennan also will share nature photography tips. For more information, visit www.swnp.org.

▪ The Moonlight African Violet and Gesneriad Society will meet and discuss “Intergeneric cross: xSmithicodonia” at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Azalea Room of the Deborah Beggs Moncrief Garden Center, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. For more information, call club President Barb Kelly, 817-656-4613.

▪ Want to learn how to make your own potting soil? Master naturalists Josephine Keeney and Joe Martinez can show you how when the Arlington Organic Garden Club meets 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bob Duncan Community Center, 2800 S. Center St., Arlington. They also will demonstrate potting plants. For more information, contact Bob Ressl, 817-706-6677.

▪ Get your gardening questions answered with a call to the Tarrant County Master Gardener Association help desk, 817-884-1944. Hours are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

▪ Johnson County master gardeners also answer gardening questions and give advice 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays. Call the Johnson County Extension Office at 817-556-6370 and ask to speak to a master gardener.

Mark you calendar

▪ For a wildlife rehabilitation workshop for adults presented by Nature’s Edge Wildlife Rescue at the River Legacy Living Science Center in Arlington. Free; donations accepted. RSVP to 817-860-6752. The center is at 703 N.W. Green Oaks Blvd. www.riverlegacy.org.

▪ For spring docent training week, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 20-24, at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, 9601 Fossil Ridge Road, Fort Worth. For more information and to register, call Laura Veloz, 817-392-7413. www.fwnaturecenter.org

This story was originally published February 16, 2017 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Nature-friendly places to go in DFW beginning Feb. 18."