Wildflower Identification and Survey

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.

Tutor: Dominic Price

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.

• Notebook/clipboard
• Water, lunch and snacks
• Hand lens (there will be some to purchase on the day or via the ticket options)
• £3 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. There is a £3 charge for parking (contactless payment available). 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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• 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

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’

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Old Sarum Castle, Castle Road, Salisbury, United Kingdom