2 hour workshop/presentation
Do you visit a woods or a prairie and just see undifferentiated blobs of green? Maybe it all looks pleasant, but you don’t really see individual plants. You aren’t alone! Lots of people experience plants that way. Maybe you already have observation skills and can even see the differences between different birds, or lizards, or model years of cars, but everything leafy looks the same to you. Knowing which plants are present can influence purchases, management plans, restoration plans, and biological survey efforts. Because the plants present influence the insects present and every other part of the food web, it’s really helpful for a naturalist to start seeing plants as individuals with their own needs and stories. This entry level workshop is designed to show you where to start to really “see” the pieces of plants . We’ll learn to describe the details that set them apart from each other and enable the observer to use botanical keys. The workshop will use a combination of slides and hands-on lessons with plant pieces you actually bring to class, whether attending virtually or in person. The class will include reference materials.