Identification and Conservation of Wetland Plants

Name: Identification and Conservation of Wetland Plants
Start: 2026-05-25T09:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-05-29T12:00:00-04:00
Location: 265 N 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States, North Carolina 28741

Schedule

Mon, 25 May, 2026 at 09:00 am to Fri, 29 May, 2026 at 12:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

265 N 6th St, Highlands, NC, United States, North Carolina 28741 | Highlands, NC

Identification of Wetland Flora (Field & Lab Course)
May 25–29, 2026
2 Credit Hours
Instructor: Dr. Joey Shaw, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Cost: $500
This course is designed for students, professionals, and naturalists seeking to strengthen their skills in observing, collecting, identifying, and evaluating wetland plant species. Accurate identification is essential for understanding wetland integrity and ecological condition, as well as for professional wetland delineation work.
Whether you are new to wetland flora or looking to refine existing skills, this course provides a supportive learning environment suitable for multiple experience levels. While a basic familiarity with botanical terminology is helpful, participants are not expected to enter with the same level of background knowledge. Students may choose to focus on specific plant groups such as woody species or graminoids, depending on their interests.
Each day will include a field excursion to a regional wetland within approximately one hour of the Highlands Biological Station. Students will collect specimens of interest in the field and then return to the lab to complete identifications using dichotomous keys, herbarium databases, and reference materials. Tools such as coefficients of conservatism will be used to help assess the ecological condition of the wetlands we study.
While the course focuses on wetlands typical of the Southern Appalachian region, the identification and assessment skills developed here will be broadly applicable. Throughout the week, Dr. Shaw will guide students through key terminology, diagnostic traits, and best practices in species identification. Participants will also begin assembling their own personal reference collections, with time dedicated at the end of the week to refining these materials.
A working draft of the forthcoming Second Edition of the Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee will serve as the primary identification key, and copies will be provided.