200 Plants and Counting: Get to Know North East Wildflowers

Course tutor: James Common

Course length: 8x trips, March-July. Please check the program below.

Course structure: Eight field sessions at different locations.

Course cost: £100 NHSN Members / £120 Non-Members

Back for another year, enjoy a relaxed, friendly course introducing the rich, beautiful, and varied flora of North East England. Suitable for complete beginners, this course will introduce attendees to a variety of habitats and the plant species frequently found within them. Together, we’ll explore tips and tricks for identifying a host of species in the field with the aim of confidently identifying around 200 North East plants upon completion of the course.

Taking in a range of habitats from the every day to the more special, as a group, we’ll also dabble in groups such as orchids, trees and easier grasses, and aim to catch-up with some of our region's more elusive wild plants.

Throughout the course, attendees will be asked to keep running logs of the species they encounter and feel confident identifying – aiming of course for the magic 200!

A full course programme, including meeting points for specific trips, will be provided ahead of the first session.

In the event of poor weather, every effort will be taken to reschedule missed sessions.

• Plants in Pavements and Walls - Friday 21 March, 10.00 am-12.30 pm, Heaton
• Common Woodland Plants - Friday 11 April, 10.00 am-1.00 pm, Jesmond
• Scarcer Woodland Plants - Friday 2 May, 11.00 am-1.30 pm, Morpeth
• Common Trees and Shrubs - Friday 16 May, 10.00 am-12.00 pm, Heaton
• Grasslands - Friday 30 May, 10.00 am-12.30pm, Silverlink
• Coastal Grasslands - Friday 6 June, 11.00 am-1.30 pm, Druridge Bay
• Plants by Ponds - Friday 11 July, 10.00 am-12.30pm, Big Waters
• Brilliant Brownfield - Friday 25 July, 10.00 am-2.00 pm, Walker

Questions (and identification queries) are welcome at any time by emailing [email protected].

Please read the terms and conditions for NHSN education courses before booking.

Recommended Equipment:

A good field guide such as the Collin's Guide to Wildflowers or Rose's Wildflower Key. A hand lens, if you have one, stout walking boots, and for some trips, a packed lunch.

About the tutor:

James works as Senior Naturalist at NHSN. Outside of work, he is a passionate wildlife recorder with a focus on botany and invertebrates. As a botanist, he is a joint BSBI Vice-County Recorder for North Northumberland and an iRecord verifier for South Northumberland.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

South Heaton, Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom