Heathland, Acid Grassland and Bogs - Habitat Survey and Assessment

A 1-day course giving participants;

• the skills and confidence to identify the key grasses and flowers of several different heathland communities.
• learning the key features for UKHAB survey and BNG condition assessments
• a chance to do quadrat sampling and share ideas with colleagues

Heathlands support a wide range of different plant communities, from dry acid grassland, through to heath, wet heath, acid seepages and bog communities. All of these support a range of key plant species, many of which are at their peak in late summer/autumn.

This course will teach easy ways to identify these species, including several types of grass, sedge and trickier plants. We will also look at quadrat based survey technique, with a chance to carry this out with other attendees, both to refresh knowledge of the species and teach recording techniques.

During the day we will look at a combination of typical and common species of these habitats, as well as some of the rather more spectacular rarities.

Dominic Price is a highly regarded botanical tutor and has been running courses for all levels of ecologists since 2007. He is director of The Species Recovery Trust and specialises in the conservation of endangered species. He is the author of A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes and co-author of The Photographic Guide to Winter Trees and Shrubs.

• Notebook/clipboard
• Hand lens (there will be some to purchase in the ticket options, or on the day)
• Footwear appropriate for wet bogs in the afternoon
• P acked lunch

The recommended text for the grasses part of the course is 'A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes' by Dominic Price. Available to purchase on the day, in the ticketing options, or in advance here. Any general flower guide should suffice.

Any problems on the day please call Dominic Price on 07968 786390.

Please inform us of any relevant medical requirements/conditions we should be aware of prior to the course.

Lifts available from Salisbury station on request.

Meet in Whitefield Moor car park, Rhinefield Road (on the way out of Brockenhurst) where there are loos, and if we are lucky, an ice cream van.

Google maps - click here

what 3 words – rudder.sandpaper.nooks

This is an outdoor run course on an exposed site, and as such we request that participants bring suitable clothing including sunhats, sunblock, and full waterproofs & fleeces. As the climate breaks down, we do occasionally have severe weather where either it is very difficult to take notes due to prolonged heavy rain, or temperatures have reached a point where long exposure can be detrimental to health.

In these instances, we will run a condensed version of the course, where we aim to see all the species before lunch but have less time to take notes on them. We will then give attendees free access to the corresponding online course for 24 hours, which means you can take notes and look at the species in more detail in the comfort of your home. We have built a corresponding online catalogue of courses for this purpose, and we therefore feel we can offer the same training experience while looking after attendees' welfare in the field.

Therefore if you look at the forecast before the course and start panicking - don’t worry, we’ve got you!

This course can be used as part of your Continuing Professional Development (CPD). We invite attendees to download their own certificate and complete the numbers of hours spent on the course, as we are aware some attendees spend more time reading up about courses before the day, and writing their notes up and sitting the online course tests afterwards. The hours on your certificate should accurately reflect this time.

'Useful and practical ID tips, chances to re-affirm what has been taught, not overloaded with information, small group size, pub lunch!'

'It was all on site and not full of complicated botanical terms.'

'I liked the level it was aimed at, felt I learnt a lot but it was not to simple or to hard.'

'Great combination of grasses and plants, field-based methods of identification rather than keys'

'Informal style with useful hints and tips'

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