Penn State Master Gardeners of Allegheny County will present a fall Backyard Gardening Lecture Series from 9 a.m. to noon next Saturday at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve on Dor-seyville Road in Fox Chapel.

This fall's event will focus on native plants and pollinators. The featured speakers include master gardeners Suzanne Warnick and Lyn Lang, who will talk about the importance of pollinators and ways to create pollinator-friendly landscapes. Horticulture educators Sandy Feather and Nancy Knauss will discuss information on native perennials and woody ornamentals that can provide attractive foliage, flowers and fruits for the garden and nourishment for pollinators throughout the year. Also, Beechwood will have a large selection of native plants available for purchase.

Registration fee is $15 per person, and pre-registration is encouraged. For information and registration, call 412-473-2540 or go to http://allegheny.extension.psu.edu.

The Pennsylvania Resources Council will offer a series of backyard and worm composting classes this month and next. Participants receive a free 80-gallon Earth Machine compost bin. Cost is $40 per person/$50 per couple. Here is the schedule:

• 3 p.m. Sept. 12, Hahn Nursery, North Hills

• 11 a.m. Sept. 18, The Urban Gardener, North Side

• 11 a.m. Sept. 25, Whole Foods Market, East Liberty

• 8:15 p.m. Oct. 6, Regional Environmental Education Center, Upper St. Clair

• 6:30 p.m. Oct. 7, East End Food Co-op, Point Breeze

• 11 a.m. Oct. 16, Frick Park Environmental Education Center

• 11 a.m. Oct. 23, Boyd Community Center

• 6:30 p.m. Nov. 10, CCI Center, South Side

Registration, information: www.prc.org or contact Lauren Seiple at 412-431-4449 ext. 226 or prccompost@ccicenter.org.

The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania will hold a public information session on a program that will install free rain gardens at homes in the Pine Creek Watershed. From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Hampton Community Center, Audubon officials will discuss plants and garden construction that reduces stormwater runoff.

Only people who live in the Crouse Run area of Hampton qualify for free rain gardens through this $90,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection. For more information, contact Roxanne Swann, coordinator, Audubon Center for Native Plants, at 412-963-6100 or rswann@aswp.org.

Cleaners, paints, pesticides and other hazardous household products will be collected from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 18 in the Monroeville Mall parking lot by Best Buy. A fee of $2 per gallon will be charged, cash only.

Sponsored by the Southwestern PA Household Hazardous Waste Task Force, UPMC and others, the collection will accept: aerosol cans; automotive fluids (motor oil, transmission fluid, antifreeze, brake fluid); batteries; chemistry sets; compact fluorescent bulbs; gasoline and kerosene; household cleaners (ammonia, drain openers, acid cleaners, oven cleaners); mercury; paint products (latex, oil-based, alkyd-based, arts/crafts chemicals, rust preservatives, creosote, water sealers, paint thinners, furniture strippers); pesticides/herbicides (rodent killers, insecticides, weed killers, mothballs, fertilizer); photo chemicals; and pool chemicals.

Collectors will not accept: ammunition; appliances; bulk waste; commercial and industrial waste; compressed gas cylinders (including propane tanks); drugs; electronics; explosives; flares; fluorescent tubes; leaking containers; medical waste (including needles); PCBs and dioxin; radioactive materials (including smoke detectors); and tires.

Another collection will be held Oct. 2 at Bradys Run Park recycling center in Beaver County. Information: www.swpahhw.org or 412-488-7452.

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