January 29th and February 5th - An Introduction to Ecology
Saturday January 29th and Saturday February 5th
10.00am – 12.30pm
Tutor: Anne Riddell
Introducing the science of ecology through four ecosystems, four ecological topics and four questions asked by ecologists, as well as key species that inhabit those ecosystems and some of the methods we use to study and draw conclusions about them. We’ll be looking at:
- wild flower meadows, populations and how we count how many organisms there are
- coppiced woodlands, biotic/abiotic factors and what influences those organisms’ presence or absence
- rocky shores, zonation, and how organisms adapt to their environment
- wetlands, spatial ecology and tracking individuals, how they use their environment and how much more can we learn from looking at individuals as well as wider populations
This series of four x 1hr Zoom lectures runs over two consecutive Saturdays and two habitats, topics and questions will be examined on each morning.
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February 12th - Harvest Mouse Training Course
Saturday February 12th
10.00am – 4.00pm
Tutor: Steve Kirk
Free to all survey volunteers
This course covers a brief ecology of the harvest mouse, its status in Kent, and how to survey for this species by nest searches. You will learn what habitats are most likely to contain harvest mouse nests, how to survey and what data to record. Following a classroom presentation in the morning (limited to 10 people), participants will have the opportunity to see live harvest mice as part of Wildwood’s captive breeding programme as well as to examine specimens of actual nests. After lunch we will drive in as few cars as possible to a nearby location where nests may be found in the field and participants will be encouraged, under supervision, to put into practice the techniques they have learned.
Afterwards, trained surveyors will be able to survey a suitable area on their own or with others and contribute data to both the Kent monitoring programme and to the current Mammal Society National Harvest Mouse Survey. Wildwood will continue to offer support and guidance to surveyors. It is hoped that the survey protocol will become adopted as the standard methodology nationwide.
Please get in touch at courses@wildwoodtrust.org to find out more information and to book your spot.
March 4th - UKHab Webinar Training Course
Friday 4th March
10am - 3.30pm
Tutor: Lesley Mason PhD ACIEEM – Freelance Botanist & Ecologist - UKHab Accredited Trainer
The UK Habitat Classification (UKHab) is a new comprehensive classification system for vegetation habitats which has many uses in conservation and land management. UKHab is set to replace the Phase 1 Habitat Survey currently used by ecological consultants in Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) of development sites.
UKHab will also be used as part of the Biodiversity Net Gain metric calculation for new developments.
This one day course comprises 3 Zoom webinar sessions covering:
- Introduction and overview of the UKHab
- UKHab survey: How to code and map habitats
- Using the UKHab Field Key to habitats (includes practical tasks)
Sessions will be 60 to 90mins each to allow time for participant interaction, questions and breaks. Limited to a maximum of 20 participants. Participants will be contacted via email to arrange webinar sessions.
NB. Participants may wish to download the UKHab documents in advance of the course from the website here: https://ukhab.org/
We will be practicing using the Field Key in session 3, so a printout of the key will be very useful.
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May 7th - Reptile Ecology and Surveying
Saturday 7th May 2022
10.00am - 4.00pm
Tutor: Mike Phillips
In partnership with Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group (KRAG)
A chance to get up close and personal to some of our most iconic and often misunderstood creatures. An introduction to native British reptiles covering identification, basic ecology and survey techniques. Find out how to identify the best places to look for reptiles and what habitat features they require. Includes a search for reptiles at a nearby monitoring site.
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