Botany for Beginners Course at Kew

[Jodie]

Evening all

This week I've been studying botany on a week-long course at Kew, which finishes
tomorrow after a 'school trip' to the millennium seed bank at Wakehurst Place (we
get to go in the Kew coach!).

http://www.kew.org/education/courses/botany.htm - for the general course details.

I've really enjoyed it. It's not particularly bushcrafty (we did get to go out and look
at some wild things growing in the conservation area today) but I've got more of a
feel for what it is that plants are trying to 'achieve' if that's the right word and I've
particularly liked cutting bits of plants up and looking at them under the microscope.

We've had a series of morning and afternoon blocks of brief presentations interspersed
with practicals and covered a range of things from how to use a botanical key to the
types of chemicals produced by plants. Lots of lovely cell structure stuff, stomata
and whatnot, but we've concentrated more on the easily visible and identifiable bits of
plants. Today we looked at pollination and dispersal in the morning before heading off
to the conservation area to see what sorts of plants were thriving in various coppiced
areas of different age.

Yesterday we were shown round the labs which included a lovely bit on medicinal
plants and keeping an eye on claimed ingredients in Chinese medicines, as well as
a chat with the woman in charge of micropropagation (seriously cool) - which involves
growing from seed, or grafts, plants under sterile conditions.

Anyway, my hand lens has really come into its own, as has the fab little Leica
microscope they put out on the desks, and I was delighted to discover that theory
matched practice and that yes, I could hold my digital camera up to the eyepiece
and get a good-ish shot.

I've uploaded some photos of various things: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75126686@N00/

Still not that great at plant identification but I've now got to the stage where I can at
least recognise that I've seen something before

Also, the journey to and from Kew has been spent reading Gordon Hillman's description
of wild plants and how palatable, or edible, they might be in "Wild Food", and this morning
I read about alkanets (which I don't think I'd even heard of before) and this afternoon I saw
one! Thoroughly enjoying their book

Colin Tudge's one about trees is my next train book I think...

Anyway, I've been trying to persuade Kew to do some other courses of a more
ethnobotanical nature in addition to their courses on horticulture and this one on
botany. Highly recommend this course - it would be great whenever it was held
but being in Kew at this time of the year with the trees going all lovely and orangey...
where's the 'swoon' smiley

 

[Jodie]

The Millennium seed bank site is amazing and the location beautiful. It's very high tech
and the guy showing us around was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining - I learned
loads.

In the afternoon we did a field project collecting seeds - as an example of how to go about
it rather than doing something from start to finish - deciding whether the fruits were at the
right stage for collection, how to estimate the numbers of plants in the target area and
whatnot.

On the way back I was chatting to one of the Kew guys and mentioned my recent forays
into bushcraft and he said that the notion of doing something bushcrafty / survival-y in the
conservation area (so as not to be disturbed by members of the public) had been mooted
as a possible course or activity. We agreed the health and safety issues could be a bit
tricky and that it would take a lot of planning but if it ever got off the ground I'd be
quite pleased to be able to do something like that at Kew.

Mind you, they might change their mind when they realise what's involved! I might point
the adult education team over here for further information...

I'm still on at them to do some sort of taught course in ethnobotany - I bet there's a
market for it, it can't just be me

 

[pibbleb]

Jodie it sounds like you had a great time. I'm very lucky here as Kew in the country isn't that far from here.

Your comments about the bushcraft type stuff was interesting. Perhaps they should have a chat with their National Trust neighbours who they share Wakehurst with, as they have run Bushcarft family days on site before, maybe a combined NT Kew thing would go down a bundle!

I can't remember details but it may have been as recent as this summer! Come to think of it they may have already collaborated on this event!

Pib

 

[Jodie]

They do a one day bushcraft course with a guy called Leon Durbin who someone on here
recommended to me - unfortunately accessing Wakehurst Place for a 9.30 start using
public transport ruled that one out

The one they're thinking - and I'd have to stress it's just thinking - would be at the London
main site in an area restricted to the public. We only went into it because of the course,
to play around in the coppiced section and see a spectacular array of wild flowers, some
of which were still in flower. It would be a lovely place to stay out in.

If they did a weekend or week long thingy at Kew:Wakehurst then we might get picked
up from the station and I'd be quite happy to do that - the site really is fabulous.

Will mention your ideas to them though

The conversation started because I asked if someone went round the gardens after
closing time to make sure everyone was out. Apparently not... If someone falls asleep
or is otherwise waylaid they need to make their way to an exit and press a buzzer to
alert the security patrol who will come and open the gate. They tend to take their time

I mentioned that if I found myself in that position I'd probably assume there was no way
of getting out and just 'bed down' for the night (and probably freeze in the process) but
the guy reckoned that Kew can be a bit spooky at night - I bet it is!!

They do (goodness I'm wittering on aren't I... nearly finished) sleepovers for children and
I suggested they do something similar for adults in the gardens, at which point he
mentioned the 'living off the land' concept in the conservation area.

Jo

 

[pibbleb]

Either way it all sounds pretty good if it comes together. I've never been to Kew in London, but I'm sure a stop over would be cool stuff. Google them into submission Jodie!

Talking about spooky sleep overs, my daughter wants a sleep over at the natural history museum next year for her birthday, which is something they do!

Keep us posted Jodie sounds like a good plan is formulating there!

:You_Rock_

Pib

 

[Jodie]

Google them into submission Jodie!

I will do my best.

Perhaps I should start a campaign on that too

A sleepover at NHM would be awesome. It's a shame I'm neither a child, nor
have any to accompany, for these sorts of things. They should rent them out
for these purposes (only to those with CRB checks of course!).

For anyone else reading and wondering about the sleepovers...

here's the Kew sleepover page:
http://www.kew.org/events/sleepover/overview.htm

British Musem:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/join_in/membership/young_friends.aspx

Didn't find a dedicated page for Nat Hist Mus but they definitely do them.

 

[pibbleb]

Jodie you can borrow mine as long as you do this years High School Musical party! Go Wildcats (cough) Not that I've watched it or anything!

Pib

 

[Robson Valley]

Most land mass can be subdivided into "biogeoclimatic zones" with different representative flora. In fact, there might even be a few "indicator" species that are exclusive to one zone and no others. I done this in western Canada for so long, I imagine that everybody has done so. Wrong, it takes some study.

I do agree that the identification of trees is a really good accomplishment and gives you notice as you move from one zone to another.