site conservation and management will findthis course covers the essential techniques.The course fee includes a personal copy ofthe latest JNCC Phase 1 Handbookand a setof colouring pencils. Andrea Kiewittis aprofessional botanist and experienced tutorwith wide experience of assessing plantcommunities. Introduction to Phase 1 Habitat SurveysFM . O . 23 May-25 May . Wed-Fri . £308 . £224See course description 21 May-23 May.Andrea Kiewitt.Introduction to Phase 1 Habitat SurveysFM . O . 28 May-30 May . Mon-Wed . £308 . £224See course description 21 May-23 May.Andrea Kiewitt.Wildlife PondsEF . B . 02 Jun . Sat . Non-residential . £37.75This course is aimed at those wanting tofind out more about ponds and theirwildlife. Epping Forest has around 100ponds with great biodiversity andparticipants will get the chance to dip in arange of these local ponds and be shownmethods to identify what they catch. As aneducation team leader at Epping Forest,Hannah Rosehas a wealth of experience inthe outdoor classroom with groups of allages.Graduate Fieldwork and Identification SkillsMA . I . 15 Jun-17 Jun . Fri-Sun . £160 . £110This course is designed for allundergraduates or recent graduates whowould like to gain experience in ecologicalfieldwork skills and identification of speciesin a variety of ecosystems including rivers,sand dunes and woodlands. The aim of thecourse is to gain experience which can beuseful when entering environmentalcareers such as ecological consultancy,research or teaching. Simon Wardis theHead of Centre at Margam. Simongraduated with a Masters in Ecology andEnvironmental Management from theUniversity of York and has been teachingecology and fieldwork in various locationsfor over nine years.Identifying Coastal PlantsDF . I . 17 Jul-20 Jul . Tue-Fri . £330 . £248Designed to help the beginner, this coursewill give participants practical experiencein the identification of saltmarsh and sanddune plants. There will be time to carry outvegetation surveys and consider theprocess of ecological succession. JohnArcher-Thomsonis Assistant Head ofCentre at Dale Fort. His special interestsinclude diving, photography, ecology andnatural history. *BITrees and Woodland in the British LandscapeFM . I . 29 Jul-03 Aug . Sun-Fri . £590 . £420A comprehensive exploration of the naturalhistory and management of trees andwoodlands. A series of illustrated lecturesare complemented by field excursions tosome of the finest ancient woodlands inSuffolk and Essex plus a visit to the SuffolkRecords Office to look at secondary sources.Oliver Rackhamis the acknowledgednational expert on the history and ecologyof woodlands. Native British Woodland Ecology,Management and EstablishmentSL . O . 30 Jul-03 Aug . Mon-Fri . £420 . £285This three-day course will provideinformation on British semi-naturalwoodland types (National VegetationClassification), distribution and natureconservation interests (flora and fauna).Days will be spent in the field visiting avariety of locally distinctive woodlands ofhigh nature conservation interest includingupland western oak woods, W17, species-rich lowland ash, W8, and the South Hamscreek woodlands. Paul Luntleads the MScEnvironmental Consultancy programme atthe University of Plymouth. He is a leadresearcher for the IUCN and a principalinvestigator with Earthwatch.Fens and Bogs: Plants and ProcessesMT . I . 06 Aug-10 Aug . Mon-Fri . £490 . £338This course aims to demonstrate thevariation in plant communities of fen andbog habitats and investigate the eco-hydrological processes that have given riseto them. It will cover wetland plantidentification, National VegetationClassification sampling, measurement ofbasic environmental variables anddiscussions about wetland management.Some strenuous walking across unevenground will be involved. Ros Trattis afreelance ecologist and part-time lecturer atthe University of Sheffield. She has manyyears' experience of wetland ecology,encompassing a wide variety of fens andbogs throughout Britain.Monitoring and Surveying for ConservationPM . I . 31 Aug-07 Sep . Fri-Fri . £525 . £355A practical course focusing on techniquesfor surveying and monitoring selectedgroups of organisms for the analysis ofhabitat and communities. It is designed forthe Birkbeck, University of London, MSc inCountryside Management as a stand-alonemodule and is suitable for others who wishto study at this level. Sue Townsend, theformer Head of Centre at Preston Montford,has designed this course in conjunctionwith Birkbeck College. She is experiencedin the identification, data analysis andplanning skills necessary for monitoringand surveying. *BBNatural History of HedgerowsEF . B . 09 Sep . Sun . Non-residential . £37.75This course provides an excellent insightinto the landscape and history of south westEssex using maps, aerial photographs andother records. We will visit and examinehedgerows, record species present anddiscuss possible management techniques.Tricia Moxeyis a qualified botanist andlecturer and has worked in Epping Forestfor many years.Managing Coasts for WildlifeFM . O . 28 Sep-30 Sep . Fri-Sun . £288 . £210This course is designed for those withprofessional and strong amateur interests incoastal areas. It will concentrate on thewildlife and habitats of 'soft' coastlines(estuaries, sand dunes, salt marshes andsoft cliffs) and will cover features,processes, wildlife communities and thelegal and other mechanisms whichunderpin active conservation management.Chris Gibson, Senior ConservationSpecialist with Natural England, has spentmuch of his 26 years in nature conservationcelebrating and protecting East Angliancoastal wildlife.NEWwww.field-studies-Habitats & Conservationcouncil.org/habitatsBees coursePete Boardman39Discounts for shared accommodationShared accommodation is usually available on our residential courses at a discounted price. The cost is(see page 2)normally around £10 per night less than sole occupancy price. Please contact the Centre for an exact price.centreleveldatesdayssole occupancynon-residentialfee FM . O . 01 Feb-03 Feb . Fri-Sun . £174 . £135

Freelance Writing: Wildlifeand the Environment FM . O . 05 Oct-07 Oct . Fri-Sun . £240 . £172Editors are always on the lookout for'experts' to write about their specialinterests. If you care about wildlife and theenvironment and want to get your ideaspublished, this course will help youdevelop a feature and identify a suitableoutlet. The course explores the wholeprocess from initial research skills toapproaching editors. Susan Grossmanis afreelance journalist, broadcaster andphotographer of over 20 years' standing. A Brief History of British WoodlandsEF . B . 27 Oct . Sat . Non-residential . £38.50A general introduction to the history ofwoodland and woodland management inBritain. Most of the day will be in the fieldusing areas of Epping Forest andsurrounding countryside looking atevidence of what has happened in the pastand examples of current practice. AndyDeaneis a lecturer in Arboriculture andCountryside Management with manyyears' hands-on experience in woodlandmanagement.HedgelayingEF . I . 22 Nov-23 Nov . Thu-Fri . Non-residential . £98Hedgerows are a valuable wildlife havento many species and have played animportant role in our landscape over manyyears. This course will cover the history,ecology and management of hedgerows,providing knowledge of the techniquesand traditional tools used for hedgelaying.Peter Vaughanhas been involved inwoodland management for the past 20years. NationalVegetationClassificationThe National Vegetation Classification(NVC) is the culmination of many years ofdetailed survey and analysis of Britishvegetation, setting the standard for futureassessment of British plant communities.The courses within this section use a widerange of principles and practice of NVC.They cover the background, structure anddevelopment of NVC, field surveys anddata collection and methods of analyticaltechniques associated with theclassification. Some of these coursesinvolve a reasonable amount of walkingto access sites and therefore require andmoderate level of fitness. NVC: WoodlandsKD . I . 11 May-14 May . Fri-Mon . £189 . £142We will visit local woods to study thevegetation, classify findings using the NVCand consider how they fit into the patternsof variation among British woods generally.There will also be three evening sessions.Ben Averisis a consultant botanist with 21years' experience of vegetation surveyusing NVC.NVC: Lowland GrasslandsFM . O . 25 May-27 May . Fri-Sun . £288 . £210This weekend introduces the principles andpractice of undertaking and using NVCsurveys. It covers the background,structure and development of NVC, fieldsurveys and data collection and methods ofanalysing plant associations andinterpreting the results. Jonny Stoneis aSenior Ecologist for OHES Environmentaland is an experienced NVC practitioner onbehalf of the UK conservation sector.NVC: GrasslandsPM . I . 25 May-28 May . Fri-Mon . £334 . £235The course will use a wide range ofgrassland types to introduce the methodology of the NVC, the use of keysand computer programmes to fit field-generated data to units of the NVC.Community development in relation toedaphic and management factors will alsobe considered. Hilary Wallaceis anexperienced course tutor and a freelancebotanist with 20 years' experience of usingthe NVC for site survey and assessment. *BINVC: GrasslandsKD . I . 20 Jul-23 Jul . Fri-Mon . £189 . £142This course will provide an introduction toBritish grasslands and how to classify themusing the NVC. It will also look at theecology and distribution of grassland NVCtypes. Ben Averisis a consultant botanistwith 21 years' experience of vegetationsurvey using NVC.Introduction to NVCKD . O . 23 Jul-26 Jul . Mon-Thu . £189 . £142You will receive a comprehensiveintroduction to the NVC. Lectures willcover the development of the NVC,methods of data gathering, data analysis,identification of plant communities, plantcommunity dynamics and the use of theNVC in site evaluation for conservation.Keys, the MATCH computer programme,tabulated data and the text of the NVCvolumes will be used. Fieldwork willinclude the study of a range of lowland andupland plant communities and some willbe sampled using standard NVC methods.Ben Averisis a consultant botanist with 21years' experience of vegetation surveyusing NVC.NVC: HeathlandsKD . I . 10 Aug-13 Aug . Fri-Mon . £189 . £142We will visit local heaths to study theirvegetation, classify it using the NVC andconsider how it fits into the patterns ofvariation among British heaths generally.There will also be three evening indoorsessions. Ben Averisis a consultantbotanist with 21 years' experience ofvegetation survey using the NVC.NEW40*Accredited courses which could count towards a qualification (see page 43).BLBlencathra .DFDale Fort . DGDerrygonnelly .EFEpping Forest .FMFlatford Mill . JHJuniper Hall .KDKindrogan .MTMalham Tarn .MAMargam .OROrielton .PMPreston Montford .RCRhyd-y-creuau .SLSlapton Ley Floodplain Meadows PartnershipSue TownsendMalhamdale haymeadowFSCNEWNEW