Autumn treats for botanists

Whether you'll be in the UK or in Ireland this autumn, we have two lovely indoor meetings for you!

Rory and some of the gang at the
2017 Irish Autumn Meeting
Image: M. Long

For botanists who will be in Ireland on 22nd September, the BSBI Ireland Autumn Meeting 2018 (including Irish AGM) is taking place at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin. Irish Officer Maria Long tells me that "the plan for the day includes a talk by Úna FitzPatrick on the pilot ‘Rare plant monitoring scheme’ run by the National Biodiversity Data Centre, a report back on the Charophyte Workshops run earlier this year, a session by Paul Green entitled ‘Atriplex around the Irish coast’, and lots more". 

The event is aimed at everyone who wants to know more about wild flowers in Ireland, regardless of whether they're a botanical expert or a BSBI member. It runs from 10am to 5pm, it's free and booking is not required, so head over to the new Irish Autumn Meeting webpage to find out more. 

Vegetative ID session with John Poland
at the 2016 BSBI Recorders' Conference
Image: R. Mabbutt

For botanists who will be in Britain between 12th and 14th October, the 2018 BSBI Recorders' Conference is taking place at FSC Preston Montford. This event is residential (so not free, sorry!) and it's aimed at active recorders (whether advanced botanists or just starting out with recording). 

There’s a selection of 13 different workshops or drop-in sessions to choose from on subjects such as recording docks, brambles, oraches and firs, and there are sessions on dandelion and grass ID for beginners; there are 11 talks, ranging from Tim Rich & Andy McVeigh on new Gentianaceae taxa to Geoffrey Hall on ‘citizen science and the recorder’ to Pete Stroh on 'Atlas 2020: the final countdown'. 

There’s a field trip on the final day with John Poland to road-test his new Twig Key, and of course there will be Summerfield Books’ pop-up shop to browse and lots of networking opportunities. To find out more and to book your space, head to the Recorders Conference page. 

We like to think that we offer botanists a range of indoor and outdoor meetings to suit all tastes, wherever you live across Britain and Ireland. But if you're sitting at home thinking "Why oh why do they never have meetings in my area to help me ID my favourite group of plants" - email us and we'll see what we can do! BSBI's Meetings & Communications Committee meets next month to plan next year's programme so we're keen to hear your suggestions.