About the event

DWT's Saving Devon's Treescapes project is delighted to be able to introduce you the the wonderful world of lichens as part of our citizen science program.

You do not need any prior knowledge or experience to attend this training session, but you may wish to watch the online training presentation April Windle gave for us earlier in the project.

This practical event will be led by Lindsay Mahon, the Saving Devon's Treescapes Citizen Science Officer. We will cover some lichen ecology and morphology, and focus mainly on looking at examples of lichens on trees in the park and how to start to identify. Lichens are under-represented in species recording in Devon (and more widely). In coming years, as Ash Dieback reduces available habitat for particular species of lichens that prefer ash habitat, we are keen to understand the impact on these species. Will their numbers also reduce, or will they be able to adapt to living on other trees? That's where you can help us by learning how to record these species.

This is a citizen science event hosted by Saving Devon's Treescapes, a partnership project led by Devon Wildlife Trust on behalf of the Devon Ash Dieback Resilience Forum and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, One Tree Planted, and other funders.

Stover County Park is situated between Newton Abbott and Bovey Tracy, close to the eastern edge of Dartmoor (https://www.devon.gov.uk/stovercountrypark/). It provides a variety of habitats for wildlife and is designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Local Nature Reserve. There is a range of tree species and associated lichens for us to examine and practice our identification skills. Stover Country Park is owned by Devon County Council and we are grateful to them and the ranger team for their permission to host this event.