Un-Creepy Crawlies

If you suffer from lepidopterophobia (fear of butterflies and moths) you may be hesitant to visit the Cockrell Butterfly Center and the Brown Hall of Entomology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. But the exhibits are devoted to changing peoples' attitudes toward insects, which play a key role in ecology and in ensuring the health of our environment.

Brimming with 1,500 to 2,000 butterflies swooping around a tropical rainforest and a 50-foot indoor waterfall, both venues provide plenty of eye candy: the more than 100 species of butterflies hail from exotic locales including El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Philippines. Interactive exhibits in the Brown Hall's Insect Wing jazz up learning, keeping visitors of all ages entertained on topics such as beekeeping and mosquito control, with live insects, mounted displays, games, and more. In addition, you can see giant walking sticks, cockroaches, tarantulas, and highly camouflaged mantids, all waiting to greet you.

The Cockrell Butterfly Center aims to show visitors that insects are by and large not harmful, and in fact, are crucial to the environment and even fun to interact with. If you're eager to create your own butterfly garden in your backyard, the center's Web site provides detailed instructions on how to attract the butterflies in your area. All it takes are select plants, tiny pools of water, and sunlight. With the right combination, you too can soon be preserving the planet and nurturing a whole host of colorful winged creatures. hmns.org

— Meghan Joyce

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Sustainable Cocktails

Raise a toast to green living with Green Drinks NYC. This social and networking group is centered on gatherings for sharing green ideas and addressing environmental concerns over an organic drink or two. Originating at a pub in Northern London, Green Drinks has spread to 542 cities worldwide, and the New York City chapter is the largest at 12,000 members. Green Drinks NYC hosts a get-together the second Tuesday of each month where members and guests meet and discuss ideas through speed networking tables, two-minute pitches, and unstructured socializing. The events feature raffle prizes and offer the chance to meet more than 400 environmentally conscious people, including some innovative green professionals. A $10 donation gets anyone in the door, and attendees can sample organic food and purchase organic drinks while schmoozing with a community that shares their love for all things green. greendrinksnyc.com

— Sarah Daniels

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Guilt-Free Gastronomy

Salvaged wooden doors are the base for the bar at Greenhouse Tavern, Ohio's first certified green restaurant. Recently named one of Bon Apetit's top 10 new restaurants in America, the multilevel dining room in a renovated historic building in Cleveland is full of recycled and repurposed materials and energy-saving features. Cutting-edge plumbing fixtures conserve water. Kitchen grease is converted into biodiesel. Local and seasonal ingredients shape the menu. And plans are on the drawing board to grow herbs in a rooftop greenhouse.

But don't worry that being green means a menu of rabbit food. "We're offering French-inspired food with Cuyahoga Valley terroir," says chef and owner Jonathan Sawyer, who honed his skills working for noted chefs Charlie Palmer and Michael Symon. That explains the Ohio beef burger with raclette cheese, and what just may be the best pommes frites you've ever tasted. thegreenhousetavern.com

— Laura Taxel

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Photographs: Courtesy of HMNS; courtesy of Green Drinks; and courtesy of Greenhouse Tavern