Join the Four Harbors Audubon Society for a free screening of The National Parks: America’s Best Idea – Ken Burns – EPISODE TWO: 1890 –1915: The Last Refuge (2009) at the Smithtown Library, 1 North Country Road, Smithtown on Friday, Jan. 7 at 6:30 p.m.

Part of the series, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, this episode tells how, by the end of the 19th century, industrialization had left many Americans worried about whether the country would have any pristine land left. Poachers in the parks were rampant, and visitors were littering or carving their names in wilderness sites. Congress had yet to establish judicial authority or set aside appropriations for protection of the parks.

This sparked a conservation movement by organizations such as the Sierra Club, led by John Muir; the Audubon Society, led by George Bird Grinnell; and the Boone and Crockett Club, led by Theodore Roosevelt. Learn about how America and Americans protected their last national open spaces. Age appropriate from those in middle school to retirees! For the budding environmentalist, and also those curious about how nature and the natural world works. All are welcome, as are questions and comments.

The screening is free and open to all but reservations required. Call Joy Cirigliano at 631-766-3075 or call the Smithtown Library at 631-360-2480, ext. 232, to reserve seating.