Grassland Plant Identification (Edinburgh) NEW FOR 2026

About this event

A day course giving participants;

· the skills and confidence to identify the key grassland wildflowers and grasses.

· learning the key features for UKHAB survey and BNG condition assessments.

· a chance to do sampling and share ideas with colleagues.

Lying in the heart of Edinburgh, Holyrood Park is best known for its iconic volcanic outcrop, Arthur’s Seat, but there is more here than first meets the eye. This SSSI contains a wide range of lowland grassland habitats and plant communities, from acid grassland and heathland to damp, rush-filled depressions and calcareous grassland. All of these support a range of key plant species, many of which are at their peak in June.

This course will teach easy ways to identify typical and common species in these habitats, including numerous grasses, sedges and rushes, as well as some of the more unusual plants. We will also look at different survey techniques, with a chance to carry these out with other attendees, both to consolidate knowledge of the species and teach recording methods.

Please be aware that there will be some steep inclines, and toilet facilities will only be available at the beginning and end of the day.

All proceeds from the course will go to supporting our endangered species conservation work.

About the tutor

Leif Bersweden is an experienced botanical tutor with a relaxed approach to teaching plants.

He is a writer, botanist and nature communicator with a face-down, bottom-up approach to watching wildlife. Leif grew up in rural Wiltshire where he taught himself how to identify the local flora and has been championing our wild plants and the joy they bring ever since. He is the author of The Orchid Hunter and Where the Wildflowers Grow.

Directions

Meet outside the Holyrood Park Education Centre, which has public toilet facilities. There are numerous pay-and-display car parks around the park, but please be aware they get very busy as it’s a popular tourist area; please leave plenty of time for finding suitable parking and walking to the meeting point. The day will run from 10am to 4pm.

Google maps – click here.

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Course schedule

Meet at 9:45am outside the Holyrood Park Education Centre for a prompt 10am start. The day will involve walking a loop through the middle of the park, passing beneath Arthur’s Seat, before returning to the meeting point by 4pm. We’ll stop halfway round to eat a picnic lunch.

The morning session will teach easy ways to identify typical and common plants of lowland grasslands, including numerous grasses, sedges and rushes, as well as some of the more unusual plants, which we will then revise during the afternoon. We will also look at different survey techniques, with a chance to carry these out with other attendees, both to consolidate knowledge of the species and teach recording methods.

Please be aware that there will be some steep inclines and toilet facilities will only be available at the start and end of the day.

What to bring

· Notebook/clipboard

· Hand lens

· Footwear appropriate for both wet and dry ground and for walking on unstable surfaces

· Packed lunch

· Water

· Sunblock/sun hat/waterproofs

The recommended text for the grasses part of the course is ‘A Field Guide to Grasses, Sedges and Rushes’ by Dominic Price. Available to purchase in the ticketing options, or in advance here. Having a wildflower identification guide isn’t required to attend this course, but any general flower guide should suffice if you wish to bring one.

Please inform us of any relevant medical requirements/conditions we should be aware of prior to the course.

Adverse weather

This is an outdoor run course on an exposed site, and as such we request that participants bring suitable clothing including sunhats, sunblock, and full waterproofs & fleeces. As the climate breaks down, we do occasionally have severe weather where either it is very difficult to take notes due to prolonged heavy rain, or temperatures have reached a point where long exposure can be detrimental to health.

In these instances, we will run a condensed version of the course, where we aim to see all the species before lunch but have less time to take notes on them. We will then give attendees free access to the corresponding online course for 24 hours, which means you can take notes and look at the species in more detail in the comfort of your home. We have built a corresponding online catalogue of courses for this purpose, and we therefore feel we can offer the same training experience while looking after attendees’ welfare in the field.

Therefore if you look at the forecast before the course and start panicking - don’t worry, we’ve got you!

Course certificate

This course can be used as part of your Continuing Professional Development (CPD). We invite attendees to download their own certificate and complete the numbers of hours spent on the course, as we are aware some attendees spend more time reading up about courses before the day, and writing their notes up and sitting the online course tests afterwards. The hours on your certificate should accurately reflect this time.

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