Introduction to UK Habitat Surveys

Expert ecological consultant trainers will lead this course and support you in building your awareness of different habitat types. You will be introduced to basic botanical skills to support habitat surveying, and coding and mapping methodology for grasslands and woodlands will be demonstrated out in the field.

Who Should Attend? – Nature enthusiasts, students, rangers, early career consultants and ecologists.

Knowledge Level – Beginner. Level descriptors can be found on the following web-page: Framework and Course Level Descriptors

Prior Knowledge – No existing knowledge or experience is needed for this course, just a willingness to explore and learn.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Classify various types of habitats using key indicator species
• Display practical surveying skills to undertake surveys
• Understand how these skills are used as part of a career

PLEASE NOTE: There is no accommodation, refreshments, or meal facilities provided with this course. If we are unable to reach viable numbers for this course, we will inform you of the course cancellation 4-5 weeks prior to the course run. We would recommend when purchasing accommodation and/or travel you should take out your own insurance.

Bookings will close if course capacity is reached.

Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.

Laurie Wildwood

Laurie Wildwood is a professional Ecological Consultant and botany tutor who, with his refreshing approach, aims to inspire adults and children to explore and appreciate the natural world. His professional background is in ecology, conservation and habitat management.

Julie Riley

Julie Riley MCIEEM is a Consultant Ecologist with 17 years’ experience of working in the environmental sector, specialising in botany and habitat surveying. Julie is a certified UKHab trainer and has extensive experience of working with and training on JNCC Phase 1 habitat surveying, UKHab surveying and Biodiversity Net Gain work.  Julie holds a FISC Level 4 botanical certification and enjoys helping professionals, volunteers and members of the public to improve their plant identification skills.

Example Timetable

Please arrive in time for the course to start promptly at 10:00am.

Morning 
10:00-10:45 
An introduction to UK Habitat Surveying
You will be able to: understand several different UK Habitats and their conservation status
10:45-12:00 
Introduction to botanical skills for habitat surveying
Introduce anatomy and terminology and commonly encountered species indicative of different grassland and woodland habitats
12:00-13:00 
Lunch - not included

Afternoon 
13:00-14:30
Field session to explore grassland and woodland habitats and looking out for commonly encountered species indicative of different types
Identify plant species and use a suitable location to introduce the concept of habitat parcels (observing broad changes: colour, texture and structure) and introducing the idea of identifying the parcel boundaries
14:30 – 15:00 
UKHAB: Introduction to the UK Habitat Classification
You will be able to: understand why the UKHAB survey was developed, where it can be applied, its format and what resources are available
Build awareness of coding and mapping protocol
15:00 – 16:15 
Field session to look at habitat parcels and how they are mapped and tutor will model a worked example of UKHAB classification
16:15- 16:45 
Using habitat surveying for environmental audit
You will be able to: understand how surveys are used by ecological consultants and the types of survey they might be required to carry out including Phase1, NVC and UKHAB
16:45 – 17:00 
Questions / Debrief

If you are undertaking your course at Haddon Hall, there is a restaurant on site which you can use on the day.

Please note accommodation, refreshments and an evening meal are not included.

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  Expert Tuition

The course has been carefully created by expert tutors and educators to help you continue to build and develop your knowledge and apply it within the field surrounded by like-minded individuals.

The course includes:

• Classroom learning covering the theory of the species
• Field excursions to apply new knowledge
• Expert tuition for which the Field Studies Council is renowned
• Clear objectives and progression

You can rest assured that the absolute best content from an expert in environmental education will be provided. In choosing an FSC course, you will be joining thousands of people who learn with us each year.

Student Discount

This course is eligible for a student discount. If you are a current student, please use discount code BioStudent20 at checkout for 20% off all Biodiversity courses.

Natural History Bursaries

There are a number of natural history bursaries available to help with the cost of your course. To find out if you and your chosen course are eligible, find out more here.

What to bring

• Please bring UKHab version 2 documents as a download or print out
• Please bring a clipboard / weather writer
• Desirable to bring any personal field equipment you have such as a hand lens, notebook and pencil, botanical ID guide, binoculars and Tupperware/plastic bags for collecting specimens.
• Suitable clothing for the weather and being outdoors - much of the afternoon will be spent outdoors in grassland and woodland.

Recommended Field Studies Council publications

• Flowers of walks and waysides
• Tree name trail
• Grasses guide
• Hedgerows guide
• Phase 1 survey guide: Grassland and marsh
• Playing field plants guide
• Woodland plants guide
• Grassland plants 1 guide
• Describing flowers

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 or access requirements, please let us know as soon as possible so we can plan the course.