LEWISTON – Elizabeth Farnsworth, a senior research ecologist for the Framingham, Mass.-based New England Wild Flower Society, will discuss rare-plant management at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday in Room 204 of Bates College’s Carnegie Science Hall, 44 Campus Ave.

Sponsored by the Bates biology department, the talk is open to the public at no cost. A refreshment period starts at 3:45 p.m. in Carnegie Lounge, Room 110. For more information, people can call 786-6490.

Her talk on “Planning for Plants: Conservation Research and Management for Over 100 Rare Species in New England” will focus on science on the ecology of rare plants, particularly in New England. It will be based on findings from the wildflower society’s five-year, $500,000 effort to create conservation plans for rare plants in the region – such species as New England blazing star, silvery aster, swamp lousewort and three-birds orchid.

She is an ecological consultant to the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and state natural heritage programs in Massachusetts and Connecticut.