Location
Juniper Hall
Duration
3 days
Date
Fri 15, July 2022 18:00 - Sun 17, July 2022 16:00
Level
Intermediate
Tutor
Ryan Clark
Price
£50.00
Course details

This residential course incorporates everything you need to know to be able to accurately identify and record UK bumblebees to species.

With a mix of classroom presentations, laboratory-based sessions, and field-based activities our expert tutor will guide you through the lifestyles, ecology, and morphology of UK bumblebees. Attendees will be provided with detailed information on sampling equipment and techniques with practical hands-on opportunities to collect live specimens.

Attendees may also use preserved specimens from our tutor’s teaching collection for identification to species-level using microscopes and identification keys, and our tutor will demonstrate best practices for creating your very own reference collection.

Information on bumblebee recording, submitting records and connecting with schemes, societies and groups will also be provided.

  • Certificate upon course completion.
  • Access to microscopes, specimen collection, lab equipment, field equipment and identification resources.
  • Tuition from tutor specialising in bees.
  • Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.
  • Please note that this course will involve collecting, killing and preserving invertebrate specimens.
  • This course has aspects that will be taught outdoors, requiring a short walk to the survey sites. No special preparation is required providing you are used to gentle exercise. If you have any concerns or questions about access or the activities involved, please get in touch.

This course is aimed at adults only and course attendees must be at least 18 years old in order to attend.

By the end of this course, you will:

  • have a grounding in Britain’s bumblebee taxonomy and species
  • be able to use external (morphological) features for specimen identification
  • have used various collecting techniques for a variety of habitats and species
  • gain practical experience using field guides and identification keys to determine specimens accurately to species-level
  • gain practical experience observing bumblebee ID features using a microscope
  • know how to curate your own personal reference collection
  • be given guidance on how to take your interest further and contribute associated recording schemes

Tutor: Ryan Clark

Ryan Clark first became interested in wild bees while at university where he discovered how important these species are and how relatively little is known about their ecology and distribution. Since then he has been actively recording solitary bees and bumblebees and is the Northamptonshire vice-county recorder for bees, wasps and ants. Ryan works for the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire as a Monitoring and Research Officer. In his spare time he is an active (some would say obsessive) biological recorder of a wide variety of taxonomic groups. Ryan also sits on committees for the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society and the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI).

Course Fees

Resident (Sole Occupancy)     £50.00

Course fees are subsidised by the FSC BioLinks project. Accommodation, meals and all course-related materials are included. If attendees who have booked together require a shared room please contact the centre to arrange this.

Please note that bathrooms may be shared and we are unable to guarantee en-suite bathrooms for any bookings.

Waiting List

If the course is full and you would like to be added to the waiting list, please email us at [email protected]g and let us know the name, date and location of the course you'd like to be added to the waiting list for.

What's Included
  • Expert Tuition
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Full Board Accommodation
  • Hot and Cold Drinks
  • Certificate upon course completion.
  • Access to microscopes, specimen collection, lab equipment, field equipment and identification resources.
  • Tuition from tutors specialising in terrestrial invertebrates.
  • Please email [email protected] if you have any questions about the course content.
  • Please note that this course will involve collecting, killing and preserving invertebrate specimens.

Bursaries and Subsidies

FSC BioLinks

FSC BioLinks is an exciting project for FSC in the South East and West Midlands, bringing together existing volunteers with skills in biological recording and identification, and new volunteers.

This project provides subsidised training courses, learning opportunities and digital tools focussed on invertebrate identification for anyone involved or interested in biological recording, to build and strengthen the community.

Invertebrates provide us with many useful ecosystem services, like pollination and decomposition, which we cannot survive without but their numbers are declining. Few people know how to identify or record invertebrates meaning there is a lack of data.

We are delighted to have been awarded a grant of £1.23 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for this project.

Before You Attend

Getting to FSC Juniper Hall

FSC Juniper Hall, Old London Rd, Mickleham, RH5 6DA
Direct enquiries: 01306 734501 (Mon-Fri, 9am–5pm) or email [email protected]

Public Transport

Train: Dorking Station (1.6 miles) – regular trains from London ( Victoria and Waterloo) and Horsham. Taxis are readily available outside the main station. Dorking Deepdene (1.6 miles) – trains from Reading, Guildford, Gatwick, Redhill and Reigate stop at Dorking Deepdene station. Box Hill and Westhumble (1 mile).

Bus: The 465 service runs between Dorking (opposite the main train station) to Kingston upon Thames and stops just outside the centre.

Road: From the north: From the junction 9 of the M25 take the A24 towards Dorking. After the Givons Grove roundabout turn left to continue on the A24 south towards Dorking for approximately 1 mile and then take the B2209 left into the village of Mickleham. Go through the village past the Church and the Running Horses pub and continue for about ½ mile. The entrance to Juniper Hall is on the left hand side immediately after Headley Lane. Please note that there is no entrance to the centre from Headley Lane. From the south: Join the A24 and head north towards Leatherhead. Go straight over Denbighs Vineyard roundabout and at the next roundabout (Burford Bridge) turn right towards Box Hill and Mickleham. Continue past the Burford Bridge Hotel and the turning for Box Hill and up a small hill. As you go over the top of the hill the centre is at the bottom of the hill on the right hand side.

What to bring

  • Notebook and pencil
  • Appropriate clothing and footwear for outdoor activity
  • Your own copy of Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland by Steven Falk if you have it (so that you can make notes)
  • Hand lens (if you have one)

There will be a member of staff with first aid training and access to a first aid kit on site. If you have special medical requirements please let us know as soon as possible so we can plan the course.

Check-in & Check-out

  • Check-in on the first day will be between 16:00 and 18:00 - if you need a later check-in, please contact the centre to notify them in advance
  • Check-out on the final day will be at 09:30. We will arrange somewhere secure to store your luggage for the remainder of the day.

Sorry this course has ended