Event information
The grass family is one of huge ecological and economic importance. Grasses play a dominant role in the landscape and provide food for a vast variety and number of animals including humankind. Their role in evolution and throughout history cannot be overestimated. On top of all this they enhance our lives with their grace and elegance. This course is designed to help the beginner to develop a taste and a confident passion for these beautiful plants. By mid-June many of the grasses will be flowering when they are at their most attractive.
The course is designed to give the beginner a sound foundation. Grasses have flowers unlike any other families of flowering plants. So beginners, whether or not they are familiar with wild flowers generally, will have lots to learn. We shall not be hunting for rarities or clocking up a long list of species, but rather we shall spend time consolidating an understanding and developing a confidence to tackle their identification independently. Given the short duration of the course we will concentrate on the species most commonly found growing wild in Britain and focus particularly on floral rather than vegetative features.
Ros Bennett is a freelance botanist and ecologist whose work has taken her to many parts of the globe. Her expertise lies principally in the native floras of Europe. She runs plant taxonomy courses for professionals and amateurs in many branches of botany. Her regular clientele includes professional ecologists, amateur naturalists, ethnobotanists, postgraduate students and trainee gardeners. She works on behalf of many organisations – in particular the Field Studies Council, Kent Wildlife Trust, various ecological consultancies and universities (most recently – Birmingham, Kent, Manchester Metropolitan and Cambridge).
