Here's a date for your summer diaries. We will be holding a Plant ID event on Sunday 4 August led by Rebecca Chance, a Natural England plant surveyor.
This event will be kindly hosted by Julian Pady at Goren Farm, Stockland. Goren offers mostly generalised grassland and we should be able to see/learn about all of the most likely plants found in this sort of habitat. We hope next year to explore other environments, wetter land and calcareous grassland being two examples that we find in East Devon. If anyone would like to offer meadows in these categories (or others), please let us know.
The details for Sunday 4 August are as follows:
The event will begin at 11:00. Please make your way to Goren Farm, Stockland, EX14 9EN. The farm is pinned on Google Maps and is off a lane leading from Stockland Hill, very near the Stockland mast, a landmark that is visible for miles around
Follow the small car park signs to park in the field opposite the farmstead and walk across the lane to find us in the farmyard
We will be looking for plants in the meadows and hedgerows. Please also bring along any plants you wish to identify. If you are finding plants now and fear you won't be able to find fresh specimens at the time, press them between sheets of absorbent paper (blotting paper is best but newspaper will suffice if necessary), weighted down by heavy books. On the day, bring your pressed specimens for identification
Please also bring a notebook and pencil and your favourite plant ID book if you have one
How long the session will last is hard to say so feel free to bring along a packed lunch if you'd like to stay for the duration
There is no need to book and there is no charge, thanks to Julian offering the space for free and Rebecca giving her professional knowledge and time gratis (thank you, both). If you enjoy and learn from the event and can spare a small (cash) donation to help us with the costs associated with running the EDMG that will be very welcome.
We look forward to seeing you if you can come that day.