Identifying Trees and Shrubs in Winter

A half-day online course giving participants 

• the skills and confidence to identify trees and shrubs when not in leaf 
• a set of c.20 labelled UK native twigs posted to your address prior to the course
• a free copy of the FSC Aidgap Winter Trees guide

Identifying trees through the winter months, when they rarely hold any leaves or fruits, is a real art form; but surprisingly simple when you know what to look for. This course will give participants a chance to look at the majority of British native species and learn how to confidently identify them, as well as a set of labelled twigs to keep to aid revision and impress your friends. 

We have run this course for 6 years in London and Wiltshire, and normally it would run to a whole day with a field visit and test in the afternoon. All our 2020 courses are currently suspended due to Coronavirus restictions, however, we feel we can offer virually the same experience online. We hope this will also open up the course to participants from all over the UK who were unable to attend previous events.

All proceeds from the course will go to supporting our endangered species conservation work.

Included in the course fee

• A free copy of the acclaimed 48-page colour guide book to winter trees and shrubs.
• A set of c.20 numbered twigs from UK native species, to examine during the course, label and keep at the end. These will be posted to you a week before the course date.

The course will include 2 pre-recorded tutorials, running through the species one by one, followed by a test then 45 minute Zoom Q&A session.

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. 

What to have

• Full set of twigs (which you will receive a week before the course) 
• Good lighting and a hand lens/magnifying glass if possible

Having witnessed the pros and cons of various webinar hosting platforms during lockdown we have made the decision to run the course via a pre-recorded Youtube video, followed by an optional test and live Zoom Q&A at the end. We hope this will allow all the attendees to easily follow the session, regardless of which hardware and software you are running it from.

Schedule

9.45 You will receive details of Youtube link via email

10.00 Video tutorial part 1 starts

11:15 Break

11:25 Video tutorial part 2 starts

12:45 Video tutorial ends

12:45 Online test

13:00 Optional Zoom Q&A Session

13:30 Finish

The video will be available to attendees for a 24 hr period, to allow revision and to aid anyone who had connection problems in the morning.

Feedback from previous real-life courses

‘I thought it was a well presented course, it felt nice and informal while I learned a relatively formal identification method, which I much approve of. The tutors were very open to questions and enquiries. Thumbs up all round.’

‘I feel more confident in identifying a range of species, which wasn’t the case before attending’

‘My twig collection is now on display in the Ecology Consultancy office where staff are testing their knowledge and the book has been very well received. Thanks again to Dominic. ‘

‘I thought it was great – good location, right amount of trees taught (anymore and I might’ve started to lose concentration, any less and I might’ve been a bit disappointed). ‘

‘Fantastic course, pitched at right level for me’

'Loved how hands on the course was being out in the field'

'easy approach the tutor had. We could ask any questions'

‘Really interesting course, stimulating and engaging’

Additional note

Obviously this format does mean you can book on with one place and then 'attend' with 20 of your colleagues/friends. As we are pretty much relying on this course to fund our winter habitat management work it would be great if you didn't do this! We have created 'add-on' tickets where you can book up to 10 people for half the price alongside you. They can enjoy the online teaching while sharing the twigs and the book. Some people may favour this as you can usefully split labelling twigs and taking notes between you!