Certificate in Practical Field Botany from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Day course - two long weekends

Residential course - one week

An 8-module course leading to a Certificate in Practical Field Botany will take place at two centres in June or July.

The eight modules cover structured themes:

• The first is an introduction to floras and the basic information necessary for plant identification, which is used extensively for the rest of the course.

• The second covers preparation for fieldwork, awareness of legislation, health and safety and essential equipment.

• The third is about information recording, the necessary detail and means of collecting it, with practice in the field on each day thereafter.

• The fourth explores how and when it is appropriate to collect and press plants; as voucher specimens, for critical taxa, first vice-county records, etc. Also included is how to collect material for DNA analysis and there will be an opportunity to mount specimens.

• The fifth module explores habitat surveying with an introduction to the National Vegetation Classification and application of the methods in different habitats. 

• The sixth, seventh and eight modules take the form of day visits to different habitats which will vary according to the season and the interests of the group. Possible venues are arable fields, coastal vegetation, moorland and woodland. At each site there will be some systematic sampling and repeated opportunities to identify species.

Assessment will be based on the field notebook completed during the course and short ID tests. All course participants will be provided with a copy of the Francis Rose Key and a hand lens.

The course will run in 2012 as 2 long weekends in June based in and around Edinburgh and 1 week in July at Kindrogan Field Centre. Further details from the Education Department, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20 A Inverleith Row. Edinburgh. EH3 5LR Tel 0131 248 2937