Tue, 19 Dec 2023 09:00 – 13:00 GMT
ONLINE
Tutor: Dominic Price
More info and to book a ticket visit Eventbrite.
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.25 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. In 2020 we ran this couse online and now feel this format works better for this course than doing it in the field, allowing people to work through the tutorial at their own pace, from the comfort of their own home. We hope this will also open up the course to participants from all over the UK who were unable to attend previous events, and radically reduce the carbon footprint of the course by eliminating travel.
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 20-30 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 a pre-recorded tutorial, 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
9:30 Start Video tutorial
12:15 Video tutorial ends
12:20 Optional Zoom Q&A Session
13:15 Finish
The video will be available to attendees from 5pm the day before, and will stay live for 24hours.
Four days prior to the course you should receive an email with all the joining details on. It appears that several work-based servers are spamming messages from Eventbrite, so if you have not heard from us by then, please check your junk folder as well as the email you booked the course on, and if you still can’t find it please get in touch with us asap.
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’
