Plant identification workshops
Image - P Heenan
Landcare Research offers plant identification workshops for biosecurity officers and weed control staff from regional councils, the Department of Conservation, and other interested parties. The aim of these workshops is to teach the basics of flowering plant identification, with an emphasis on the New Zealand naturalised (weedy) flora.
The workshop typically runs in early December (when lowland weed species are in flower). The course is taught in a training room at Lincoln equipped with dissecting microscopes and computers and plant material is provided to identify. Eight to twelve people can be accommodated and teaching is intensive, with several teachers for each workshop
Lucid interactive keys are highlighted in the course as they offer a more dynamic and easier way to key out plants than traditional floras. However, an introduction is also given to using the Flora of New Zealand series. The workshop emphasis is typically on the naturalised flora, but the skills learnt also apply to the native flora and we can cater to those wishing to identify particular plant groups. Trainees are taught about characters and character states and how to use these to correctly identify plants.
These plant identification workshops are scheduled annually according to demand.