Welcome to Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust's Wildlife Workshops
This year, in collaboration with the Herts Natural History Society and the Lee
Valley Regional Park Authority, we are running another series of workshops,
building on the success of last year's programme. You will find a mixture of
new workshops and old favourites covering a range of topics, which aim to:
- Introduce you to new subjects and wildlife.
- Increase your awareness and knowledge of the wildlife
around you.
- Develop your skills in species identification and introduce you to species recording.
Which in turn will:
- Enable you to play your part in conserving and
protecting the natural world.
- Help us to monitor species on these sites. (All
species recorded on the day will be added to species databases).
- Increase your enthusiasm for wildlife and encourage you to learn more!
Our workshops are open to anyone over the age of 12 with an interest in wildlife
and conservation, whether you are a complete beginner or want to gain further
knowledge and experience.
How to Book
To book onto any of our workshops, please print off the PDF booking form, complete
and send it with a cheque made payable to Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust to:
Jennifer Gilbert
HMWT, Grebe House,
St. Michael's Street, St. Albans,
Herts, AL3 4SN.
All workshops are available on a first come first served basis and places are limited.
Further workshop details will be sent to participants approximately two weeks
prior to the event. If you are unable to attend, please give us as much notice
as you can so that we can offer your place to someone else.
If you have any queries, please contact Jennifer Gilbert at the Trust on 01727 858901 or jennifer.gilbert@hmwt.org
Please note: We reserve the right to cancel workshops.
If this happens a full refund will be given.
Learn about…Watervoles
| Field Site: |
Silvermeade,
Broxbourne |
Date: |
13th April |
| Venue: |
Indoor venue at Silvermeade |
Time: |
10am-1pm |
| Tutor: |
Alison Washbrook |
Cost: |
£10 |
Following an indoor talk on the biology, ecology and conservation of water voles,
you will have an opportunity to observe water voles being released from traps on
the nature reserve, find water vole field signs along ditch edges and complete a
water vole survey form.
Learn about…Amphibian Survey
& Recording
| Field Site: |
Patmore Heath
Nature
Reserve |
Date: |
19th April |
| Venue: |
Albury Village Hall |
Time: |
10am-2pm |
| Tutor: |
John Baker |
Cost: |
£10 |
An introduction to amphibians, their identification, surveying and recording.
We will be following methods used in the National Amphibian
Survey.
Learn about…Woodland Wild Flower Identification
| Field Site: |
Great Groves Wood |
Date: |
26th April |
| Venue: |
Brickendon Village Hall |
Time: |
10am-4pm |
| Tutor: |
Neale Holmes-Smith |
Cost: |
£25 |
An indoor session on the origins and structure of woodlands, methods of surveying
woodland plants and practical identification of plants, will be followed by a visit
to a local woodland to put your new survey skills into practice.
River Day
| Field Site: |
River Mimram |
Date: |
3rd May |
| Venue: |
Bayfordbury Field Station |
Time: |
10am-4pm |
| Tutor: |
Ronni Edmonds-Brown |
Cost: |
£25 |
This workshop will involve a visit to the River Mimram where you will use a range
of methods to collect freshwater plants and invertebrates, before returning to the
lab to learn how to identify them.
Learn about…Spring Butterflies
| Field Site: |
Waterford Heath |
Date: |
10th May |
| Venue: |
Stapleford Village Hall |
Date: |
10am-1pm |
| Tutor: |
Liz
Goodyear & Andrew
Middleton |
Cost: |
£10 |
Learn about the ecology and habitat requirements of a range of grassland butterfly species, including the rare Grizzled Skipper. Waterford Heath provides the perfect opportunity to see these species in the field, learn how to identify them and fill out a species recording form.
Learn about…Woodpeckers and Woodland Birds
| Field Site: |
Sherrardspark Wood |
Date: |
18th May |
| Venue: |
Scout hut |
Time |
10am-1pm |
| Tutor: |
Ken
Smith |
Cost: |
£10 |
After an introductory session to woodlands, their birds and bird census techniques, we will be looking for woodpeckers and other woodland birds, their nests, and putting census techniques into practice.
Learn about…Orchids
| Field Site: |
Bowyers Water |
Date: |
8th June |
| Venue: |
Cheshunt Youth Hostel |
Time: |
10am - 4pm |
| Tutor: |
Alec
Cooper |
Cost: |
£25 |
A workshop covering all aspects of orchids from their structure and life cycle, to their distribution across Herts and Middlesex and how to identify them. The afternoon will be spent visiting Lee Valley Park orchid sites.
Introduction to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes
| Field Site: |
Hudnall Park |
Date: |
21st June |
| Venue: |
Hudnall Park Field Studies Centre |
Time: |
10am-4pm |
| Tutor: |
Brenda Harold |
Cost: |
£25 |
"Sedges have edges, rushes are round and grasses have knobbly knees." Discover this for yourself in a hands-on classroom session followed by field identification practice.
Beginners Wildlife photography
| Field Site: |
Rye Meads Nature Reserve |
Date: |
28th June |
| Venue: |
Rye
Meads Visitor Centre |
Time: |
10am-4pm |
| Tutor: |
Dave
Cottridge |
Cost: |
£45 |
A look at the different aspects of natural history digital photography and how the correct use of exposure, focus, angle of view and simple composition can enhance the appeal of the picture.
More Grasses, Sedges and Rushes
| Field Site: |
Kings Mead and Hertford Heath |
Date: |
5th July |
| Venue: |
St.
Mary's Church Hall, Ware |
Time: |
10am-4pm |
| Tutor: |
Trevor James & Brenda Harold |
Cost: |
£25 |
For those who have a basic knowledge of the subject or have been to the introductory workshop on the 21st June, this workshop will explore different types of habitat and get you practicing identification in the field.
Learn about…Dragonflies and Damselflies
| Field Site: |
Cornmills Meadow |
Date: |
26th July |
| Venue: |
Abbey Farmhouse, Waltham Abbey |
Time: |
10am-2pm |
| Tutor: |
Roy
Woodward |
Cost: |
£10 |
An introduction to the life cycle, behaviour and identification of dragonflies and damselflies with the emphasis on the adults of species found in Hertfordshire and Essex.
An Appreciation of Bird-ringing
| Field Site: |
Hilfield Reservoir
|
Date: |
27th July |
| Venue: |
N/a
- fully outdoor |
Time: |
8.30am-12.30pm |
| Tutor: |
Peter Delaloye |
Cost: |
£10 |
An introduction to catching and ringing birds and the reasons for doing this. This will involve trapping birds by mist net and identifying, ageing, sexing and measuring those caught before releasing them.
Learn about…Native Tree Identification
| Field Site: |
Northaw Great Wood |
Date: |
9th August |
| Venue: |
N/a
- fully outdoor |
Time: |
10am-1pm |
| Tutor: |
Neale Holmes-Smith |
Cost: |
£10 |
Ever walked around a woodland and wished you knew what you were looking at? This workshop combines an introduction to tree identification techniques with a walk in the wood putting your skills into practice
Learn about…Bats
| Field Site: |
Verulamium Park |
Date: |
5th September |
| Venue: |
St.
Michael's Church Hall |
Time: |
6.30pm-9.30pm |
| Tutor: |
Roger Havard |
Cost: |
£10 |
A general introduction to bats, including what they eat and how they find it, where they live, legal protection and an introduction to using bat detectors. Afterwards, you will use bat detectors to listen out for bats flying over the park.
Learn about…Spiders
| Field Site: |
Bayfordbury |
Date: |
14th September |
| Venue: |
Bayfordbury Field Station |
Time: |
10am-1pm |
| Tutor: |
Tom
Thomas |
Cost: |
£10 |
An opportunity to learn that spiders are not really scary creepy-crawlies. The workshop offers an introduction to spiders and collecting methods in the field before returning to the lab to identify specimens under microscopes.
Learn about…Bat Identification & Survey Techniques
| Field Site: |
Cheshunt Youth Hostel grounds |
Date: |
20th September |
| Venue: |
Cheshunt Youth Hostel |
Time: |
6pm-9pm |
| Tutor: |
Sarah Jane Scott |
Cost: |
£10 |
This workshop will provide a general refresher on bat identification, echolocation, habitat and visual indicators. The emphasis will be on surveying bats, where the information goes and how important the data is.
Learn about…Moths
| Field Site: |
Myddleton House
gardens |
Date: |
27th September |
| Venue: |
Myddleton House, Enfield |
Time: |
6.30pm-9.30pm |
| Tutor: |
Paul
Roper & Simon
Wightman |
Cost: |
£10 |
After a classroom session covering trapping techniques, identification, recording and what to do with your records, you will look at specimens caught the previous night and traps set up around the gardens.
Intermediate
Wildlife Photography
| Field Site: |
Rye Meads Nature
Reserve |
Date: |
4th October |
| Venue: |
Rye
Meads Visitor Centre |
Time: |
10am-4pm |
| Tutor: |
Dave
Cottridge |
Cost: |
£45 |
A look at how camera settings, the direction of light, the camera's position and capturing images with a view to being processed in an editing suite can affect the final look and appeal of the image. You will also look at picture composition.
Fungi Foray
| Field Site: |
Northaw Great Wood |
Date: |
11th October |
| Venue: |
Hut
in wood |
Time: |
10am-1pm |
| Tutor: |
Chris James |
Cost: |
£10 |
An introductory talk followed by a walk around the wood looking for and collecting fungi specimens for identification. You will learn about the role that fungi play in the natural environment and be introduced to woodland species.
Hedgelaying for Beginners
| Field Site: |
Attenborough Fields , Bushey |
Date: |
6th December |
| Venue: |
N/a - fully
outdoor |
Time: |
10am-4pm |
| Tutor: |
Rob
Hopkins |
Cost: |
£25 |
Hedgelaying is a traditional method of hedgerow management often used for nature conservation, benefiting both the hedge itself and many plants and animals. Come and learn the skills that will enable you to maintain a hedge for wildlife.
Learn about…Wildfowl
| Field Site: |
Stocker's Lake Nature
Reserve |
Date: |
24th January 2009 |
| Venue: |
Mill
End Baptist Church |
Time: |
10am-1pm |
| Tutor: |
Tim
Hill |
Cost: |
£10 |
Join us to learn all about the Colne Valley's post-Christmas quackers. This workshop will help you tell the dabblers from the divers and what makes Stocker's Lake a des-res for ducks from as far afield as northern Russia.
Learn about…Winter Tree Identification
| Field Site: |
Sherrardspark Wood |
Date: |
7th February 2009 |
| Venue: |
N/a
- fully outdoor |
Time: |
10am-1pm |
| Tutor: |
Neale Holmes-Smith |
Cost: |
£10 |
After an introduction to winter tree identification techniques, spend the day walking around the wood putting your skills into practice.
