Sphagnum Mosses: Field Identification Course

A 1 day course giving participants an introduction to field identification of Sphagnum mosses and other heath and mire bryophytes.

Wilverley Bog shows a classic New Forest transition from dry heath through wet heath and flush into valley mire. It supports 19 species of Sphagnum including common species of mire and wet heath as well as several less frequent species that are classic indicators of base-rich flushes.

Emphasis will be on demonstrating characters that assist with identification in the field. If there is interest from the group, there may be opportunities to look at other heath and mire mosses and liverworts.

This workshop will be suitable for beginners and improvers alike.

About the tutor

Sharon Pilkington is a nationally recognised professional botanist, bryologist and vegetation ecologist. She is the British Bryological Society’s Recorder for Mosses and Sphagnum Referee, a Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland Emeritus Recorder, holds two of the highly-respected Natural History Museum Identification Qualifications (IdQs) and is a Chartered Environmentalist.

What to bring

• Wellies
• Lunch, water and snacks
• Notebook
• A hand lens – ESSENTIAL. Ideally x 20 or at least x10 magnification
• Collecting bags (optional)
• Any ID guide you are happy working with. We also recommend the FSC field key to Sphagnum by Godfrey and Rogers, 2021

A handout can be downloaded here. It would be helpful to look at this beforehand and print it off (or have it on a phone or tablet) for use on the day.

At the time of writing, there appears to be a move by Forestry England to charge at its car parks in the New Forest which up until now has not been the case. This may or may not be in place at the time of this course. Therefore, please be prepared to pay for parking, payment will be via the RingGo app so please have this downloaded and set up in advance, it could be around £8 for over 4 hours.

Schedule

10.30 Arrival and Welcome

10.45 Sphagnum terminology and identification basics

11.00 Field identification (1)

3.00 Lunch

13.30 Field identification (2)

14.30 Practical exercise

16.00 Departure (or earlier if weather inclement)

Directions

We will meet at the Wootton Bridge car park, south of Burley.

Nearest postcode: BH25 5TZ Grid Ref: SZ250997

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Google Maps: click here

Please inform us of any medical requirements/conditions we should be aware of prior to the course. Due to the nature of the habitat, part of the course will be on uneven and boggy ground.

Course certificate

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 reading around the subject afterwards. The hours on your certificate should accurately reflect this time.

Feedback from previous courses

'Good location, good tutor, good weather!'

'Pace was good, with enough time on the 11 or so species we got through. location was amazing and well chosen and aided the success of the day.'

'Informal, friendly, knowledgeable leader, ideal location'

'Detailed information on field characteristics and how to differentiate between easily confusable species'