As summer inexorably gives way to a new fall season of vivid colors and shorter days, several churches in the greater Belfast area are inviting all residents to observe a worldwide ecumenical “Season of Creation” by listening to, learning about, and caring for the trees in their midst.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Belfast, in cooperation with the Greater Bay Area Ministerium representing many denominations, will offer weekly programs in September around the theme “Listening to Trees: Witnesses and Prophets.” The mid-day programs will be held where the trees live, in Belfast City Park and along the Rail Trail, with the Belfast Free Library as the back-up venue in case of rain. The presentations are open to all, church-affiliated or not, without charge.

The international “Season of Creation” starts on Friday, September 1, the worldwide Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and concludes on Wednesday, October 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. Local activities will also begin Sept. 1 with the Rev. Steven Alspach, pastor of Sandy Point Congregational Church, leading the Season of Creation Opening Prayer Service “Let Justice and Peace Flow” at noon in the pavilion at Belfast City Park. A brown bag lunch and conversation will follow. Clergy from other participating churches will offer brief prayers or readings of their choice before each of the following events:

• Wednesday Sept. 6, 10:30 a.m. – Tour of the Belfast City Park Arboretum, led by one of its founding arborists, Aleta McKeage of the Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District. She planned and developed the Arboretum that currently includes over 300 native and exotic trees. She will provide expert information on which trees are best able to adapt to Maine’s warming climate and ways to prevent or combat disease. She will lead a second tour on Friday Sept. 8, also at 10:30 a.m. Participants should meet at the plaza near the flagpole by the Northport Ave. entrance. An optional brown bag lunch in the City Park pavilion will follow. The tours are cancelled if it rains.

• Wednesday Sept. 13, 12 noon – Information on Belfast’s participation in the national Green Streets program presented by City Councilor Mike Hurley. His talk in the pavilion at the lower end of Belfast City Park will focus on past and present tree planting in Belfast, the status of Belfast’s tree ordinance and tree warden, and what the city’s approach to planting and care of its urban forest is likely to be going forward. Please bring a brown bag lunch. In case of bad weather, this program will move to the Abbott Room at the Belfast Free Library.

• Wednesday Sept. 20, 11:30 a.m. – A walk along the Belfast Rail Trail will give participants the opportunity to learn about trees and local vegetation from noted naturalist and educator Cloe Chunn, popular Senior College instructor and founding member of the Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition. Participants should meet at the Upper Bridge parking area and bring a brown bag lunch for a stop at the picnic area. The walk will continue to the train station parking area. Participants who wish to complete the full walk are urged to car pool, leaving cars at both parking areas. For ADA accessibility information, call 218-1448. This walk will be repeated on Friday Sept. 22 at 10:30 a.m.

• Wednesday Sept. 27, 12 noon – More attention to local efforts to preserve the Midcoast’s natural environment will be provided by Ian Stewart, executive director of Coastal Mountains Land Trust. In a presentation at the Belfast City Park pavilion, he will focus on the land trust’s latest efforts to conserve land in Waldo County, especially green spaces around schools to give future generations of students hands-on opportunities to learn about and care for the outdoors. Please bring a brown bag lunch. This session will shift to the Belfast Free Library if it rains.

• Tuesday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m. – The Season of Creation series will conclude with a simple ecumenical Taize service of singing and meditations at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 95 Court St., Belfast. All are invited.