Wildflower Identification and Survey

Wildflower Identification and Survey - Neutral and Calcareous Grasslands

Old Sarum and Figsbury Ring

A one-day course giving participants

• the ability to identify the wildflowers in semi-improved neutral and calcareous grasslands, using simple features
• a good understanding of key indicator species
• an introduction to yellow composites

This training day will familiarise participants with wildflowers commonly encountered in the countryside, as well as the more specialist species associated with species-rich calcareous grassland. No keys will be used, but we will aim to get a handle on the main families of flowering plants in the UK, to help identification skills. The workshop will be carried out in stunning hill-forts surrounding Salisbury, and provide the opportunity to discuss some of the conservation management issues of these habitats, and how wildflowers can be used as indicator species of the habitats they live in.

The day will start by covering many of the species that are commonly encountered while surveying neutral grassland before moving on to the nearby Figsbury Ring, a SSSI with unimproved grassland and extremely diverse grassland flora, and the chance to see and learn several species of orchid.

At both sites, as well as being shown species, participants will carry out quadrat monitoring in small groups to revise what we have seen.

About the tutor

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 and A Field Guide to Bryophytes.

What to bring

• Notebook/clipboard
• Water, lunch and snacks
• Hand lens (there will be some to purchase on the day or via the ticket options)
• £4 for parking at Old Sarum (contactless payment available)

Old Sarum can be extremely exposed to the weather and there are no indoor facilities beyond the loos. 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 the station and between sites on request.

Directions

Old Sarum is signed off the A345 2 miles north of Salisbury. Meet in the main car park (where there are loos). Address: Castle Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire - SP1 3SD. We apologise that the site does not open until 10am, so please do not attempt to enter the site before 10:05am as it very quickly blocks the access track if there is a delay in site opening. If you are coming from far we appreciate it is hard to time this, but there is a pull-in just to the south of the site (opposite the Harvester) where you can wait, or a small Co-op or large Waitrose further south on the edge of town.

Google maps - click here

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Schedule

• 10:05 Arrive on site (please don't arrive before this as gates are locked)
• 10:15 Flowers of semi-imporved and semi-calcareous grasslands
• 1:00 Drive to Figsbury Ring
• 1:15 Flowers of calcareous grasslands
• c. 3:45 Course finishes

Adverse weather

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.

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

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 and sitting the online course tests afterwards. The hours on your certificate should accurately reflect this time.

Feedback from previous courses

‘Dom has a great way of imparting knowledge. Humour makes things easier to remember!'

‘Just right for an audience of mixed knowledge levels’

‘Really interesting course and I feel I have learned a lot and wish to continue learning.’

‘Really well-organised and well-designed course. Lots of info but also lots of practice.’

‘Genuinely spot on, tutor was incredibly attentive to individual knowledge levels’