North Pennines National Landscape

Upland hay meadow surveys

We are looking for volunteers to undertake botanical surveys on a selection of upland hay meadows that have been restored through seed addition, at locations across the North Pennines.  

Time-scales: Botanical surveys are undertaken from third week of June until late July.

Methodology: Groups of two to three volunteers undertake 15 quadrats (1m x 1m square) per meadow. One meadow with 15 quadrats may take between one to two days.

 We are offering a free three-day course for beginner’s and botanists wishing to refresh their skills, in exchange for a minimum requirement of helping to survey a meadow over one full day. Beginners are advised to attend all three days, if possible. More experienced botanists can choose which days to attend based on their previous experience. You will need to sign-up to these three training days separately:

• Day One: Wildflower Identification training, Thursday 4^th June.

• Day Two: Grasses and sedges Identification training, Thursday 11^th June.
• Day Three: Botanical survey training, quadrats and meadow assessments, Thursday 18^thJune.

• Description of training:

  We will spend the morning inside, looking at the key flowers and vegetation features of grasses and sedges. In the afternoon we will go on a walk looking at grasses and sedges in a nearby meadow, and along The Pennine Way.

   

  Lunch provided in Newbiggin Village Hall with refreshments provided. 

   

  Prerequisites

  For beginners, the Wildflower Identification course is a prerequisite for this training day.  Botanists with previous experience of identifying wildflowers may book onto this day, without doing the previous training day, if they feel confident in their abilities.

   

  Training will be undertaken by Dr Ruth Starr-Keddle, if you have any queries, please email Ruth: ruth@northpennines.org.uk

  Day Two: Grasses and sedges Identification training, Thursday 11^th June.