Botany Field Recorder Day

Botanical recording is important because it helps us understand the diversity and distribution of plant species, track environmental changes, and inform conservation efforts. In London, where green spaces range from parks and nature reserves to urban redevelopment sites, recording which plants are present is vital for managing biodiversity and maintaining healthy ecosystems. This information helps site managers make informed decisions about habitat restoration, invasive species control, and sustainable landscaping, ensuring that urban environments continue to support wildlife, improve air quality, and provide valuable green spaces for people.

Join like-minded nature enthusiasts for a day of finding, identifying and recording plants in an informal setting. Naturalists of all levels (from beginner to expert) are encouraged to attend, share their experiences with peers and help one another improve their knowledge and build confidence in biological recording. Botany specialist Mark Spencer will be leading the day and providing guidance throughout.

• Practical experience of finding, identifying and recording plants in the field.
• Access to a specialist botanist and the opportunity to discuss field botany.
• A chance to meet like-minded nature enthusiasts.

• This event is aimed at adults only.
• It’s free to attend and botany recorders of all abilities are welcome, but booking is essential.
• All identification will be completed in the field where possible, though please note that this event will involve some experienced individuals collecting botanical specimens for further investigation.
• Please bring suitable clothing for the weather – we'll be outside all day
• Please bring food for the day with you (i.e. lunch)
• All records collected will be added to iRecord in order to share our findings with the site managers, Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL), London Natural History Society (LNHS) and relevant national recording schemes and societies.
• Check out our Info for Field Recorder Day Attendees page for more info (including instructions for setting up iRecord): https://biologicalrecording.co.uk/info-for-field-recorder-day-attendees/

Dr Mark Spencer is an experienced and internationally respected botanist. His expertise covers many disciplines including forensic botany, the plants of North-west Europe, invasive species and the history of botanical science. He also works globally as a seasoned writer, public speaker and television presenter. As a forensic botanist, Mark has worked on various missing person enquiries, murders and other serious crimes.

This Field Recorder Day will take place on the Dollis Brook, an important watercourse and green corridor in the London Borough of Barnet. Specifically, we’ll be surveying part of the Lower Dollis Brook, a 29.45 ha Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). Habitat wise, this section of the brook is flanked by a narrow strip of woodland, mostly sycamore but with a wide range of other trees and shrubs, including some old oaks. Although these lower reaches are less natural than the upper brook, the site forms a valuable green corridor through suburbia. The brook is heavily shaded, so aquatic plants are largely limited to Himalayan Balsam and occasional clumps of Yellow Iris and Pendulous Sedge. Sticklebacks live in the water, and kingfishers nest in its steep clay banks. The path alongside is part of the Brookside Walk, established by Finchley Council in the 1920s and now incorporated into the Dollis Valley Greenwalk. You can find out more about the site and its wildlife on the Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL) website here.

This Field Recorder Day is being delivered by the Biological Recording Company in collaboration with the London Borough of Barnet.