Introducing Lichens – Field event in the Knapp Orchard, Sidmouth.
With Lindsay Mahon – Devon Wildlife Trust
Free event, pre-booking essential due to limited capacity. Bookings open early September.
Lichens are amazing! They are such beautiful, complex organisms that are so often overlooked. Their curious combination of different life forms, fungal species with photosynthesising algae or bacterial cells, gives them an air of mystery.
Thanks to our clean sea air, the fruit trees in The Knapp Orchard are encrusted with several different lichens and they are at eye level to make them easily accessible. This event is aimed at complete beginners, and will give a brief introduction to lichens, their roles in nature, and their different forms, and start to look at the types of features on lichens that enable them to be identified as species. Prepare to be amazed as you peer at lichens on trees through a x10 hand lens – it’s a whole new world!
Lindsay is a Landscape Survey Coordinator for Devon Wildlife Consultants, part of Devon Wildlife Trust. Lindsay had a career in something completely different before moving to Devon in 2015. She then re-trained and is now enjoying working in the conservation sector. Lichens have become a particular interest of Lindsay’s as she has learned more about them through her work and is now the co-lead of the South Devon Lichen Group. Lindsay is passionate about introducing people to this fascinating world in miniature.