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Kim L

@mikekally.bsky.social
362 followers 1.3K following 151 posts

Love nature, learning about ecology. Based in Ireland. All pictures except reposts or otherwise credited are my own, and my phone's not great so don't expect too much 😉

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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Based in Ireland? Booked yet for this autumn's big event for all Irish plant- lovers? Taking place this Saturday 3 October in Enniskillen. Small registration fee includes lunch/tea/coffee & all workshops. Don't miss out, it will be a great day! www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...
bsbi.org
Irish Autumn Meeting & AGM
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BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Bookings open for the Irish Autumn Meeting & AGM, 3 Oct in Enniskillen! Highlights incl. talks & workshops on Sorbus; Irish ferns; Fermanagh flora; beginners' recording & our BSBI database: an exciting day! Book at bsbi.org/take-part/ev... @bsbibotany.bsky.social @cedarrecordsni.bsky.social #Botany
Irish Whitebeam (Sorbus hibernica) in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
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Reposted by Kim L
BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Ready to tackle aquatic plant ID? Join us for Charophyte Identification Training with expert Cilian Roden! Mon 28 Sept 2026, 10:30–16:00 in Lough Money, Co. Down Indoor ID session + outdoor recording at the lough edge. Book here: bsbi.org/take-part/ev...
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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Intrepid botanists headed up Slieve Muck on 18 August in the footsteps of Ireland's most famous naturalist, Robert Lloyd Praeger. They found Mountain Everlasting, a plant last recorded on the mountain by the great man himself in 1880! @bsbiireland.bsky.social Find out more: bsbi.org/about/news/p...
The distinctive leaves (green on top, white below) of the Mountain Everlasting plant, photographed on Slieve Muck, Co. Down, on 18 August.A group of smiling, intrepid botanists point to one of the rare plants they found on the mountain.
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
We have a vacancy for a Trustee to join our Board & contribute towards the future direction of our charity. Interested? You'd join friendly fellow Trustees such as @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social & @wildplantwanderer.bsky.social in making a real difference for plants & people bsbi.org/about/people...
BSBI Trustees Trevor and Nicola looking very happy at the 2025 British & Irish Botanical Conference, with copies of Trevor's 'Urban Plants' book
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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Still a few spaces available on this FREE all-day event this Saturday at an "orchid-rich grassland" in Co. Kilkenny. The tutor, James Owens, aims to help you boost your #WildFlowerID skills & learn more about Ireland's beautiful grasslands. Book your space ASAP: www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...
tickettailor.com
Select tickets – Irish Grasslands Project: Gale's Hill, Kilkenny – Gale's Hill
Irish Grasslands Project: Gale's Hill, Kilkenny – Gale's Hill, Sat 18 Jul 2026 - This event is part of the Irish Grasslands Project funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to enhance botanic...
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Reposted by Kim L
BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Calling all #NationalPlantMonitoringScheme volunteers in #NorthernIreland! We've two fantastic training days on how to survey an #NPMS square: Cookstown, Thursday 25 June ( tinyurl.com/y52bxzn2) Crumlin Glen, Saturday 4 July (tinyurl.com/3f2b8f4t) #BotanicalSkillsNI #FieldSkills #Volunteering
tinyurl.com
Select tickets – Botanical Skills NI: NPMS training for Recording plants on NPMS plots at Crumlin Glen – Crumlin Glen and the surrounding 1km area
Botanical Skills NI: NPMS training for Recording plants on NPMS plots at Crumlin Glen – Crumlin Glen and the surrounding 1km area, Sat 4 Jul 2026 - The Botanical Skills Northern Ireland Project will b...
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Reposted by Kim L
BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Exciting news! BSBI has received 3yrs funding from National Parks & Wildlife Service for the Irish Grasslands & Targeted Aquatic Plants projects. If you're keen to build your grassland id skills or you'd like an intro to aquatics, watch this space! @npwsireland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Marsh bedstraw, ragged-robin, common spotted orchid, and sheep's sorrel spotted yesterday in Oxford Island, Armagh #wildflowerhour
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Reposted by Kim L
BSBI Scotland @bsbiscotland.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Together last year we made >300,000 plant records in Scotland via #BSBIRecordingApp, #iRecord or #iNaturalist, and every one you collect contributes to plant conservation! #BSBICountyRecorders ensure they go to support Red Lists, Atlas projects, open data via #NBN and more... Thank you everyone! 🙏
Blue Heath (Phyllodoce caerulea), a nationally rare species of heather restricted to just a few mountain tops in Scotland, with large pink flowers nodding at the top of its shoots. The 300,000+ plant records BSBI members, recorders and recording app users collected last year included 21 records of this plant!
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Many of our volunteering opportunities are open to all, but we offer even more options for #BSBImembers who can apply to join a committee. Events & Comms committee organises activities & events eg #NewYearPlantHunt. Skills & Training Committee focuses on #BotanyForEveryone. bsbi.org/about/people...
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BSBI Scotland @bsbiscotland.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Anyone fancy a quick trip next week?! @bsbibotany.bsky.social's Botanical Skills Project in Northern Ireland has put together a fantastic programme of field meetings and training events, not to mention their brilliant winter webinar series that you can enjoy from home bsbi.org/take-part/pr...
bsbi.org
Botanical Skills Northern Ireland
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Reposted by Kim L
BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Learning to tell grasses, sedges & rushes apart? 🌿 Sedges usually have solid, triangular stems 🌿 Rushes typically have smooth, round stems 🌿 Grasses often have distinct nodes A useful beginners ID webinar for improving botanical skills: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHIz... #BotanicalSkillsNI #PlantID
youtube.com
Grasses, Sedges and Rushes for Absolute Beginners
YouTube video by Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
BSBI has always been proud to support #YoungDarwinScholarship! All the Young Darwins receive free @bsbibotany.bsky.social digital membership & are invited to our special student networking event. Please repost & spread the word about this fab initiative run by our friends @fieldstudiesc.bsky.social
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Reposted by Kim L
BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Help us map Northern Ireland's wild plants! The #BotanicalSkillsNI project is building a community of botanical recorders to support nature recovery. Learn via our webinars: bit.ly/BSBI-NI-Webi... Check out our project and events: bsbi.org/take-part/pr... Let's make every record count!
A group of people wearing sunhats study plants in a grassland. There is a pathway to the left, and tall trees in the background
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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Are you based in Northern Ireland and taking part in the National Plant Monitoring Scheme @npms.bsky.social ? We have a great event for you on 19 May, with #WildFlowerID at Ecos Nature Park, Ballymena in the morning followed by training on how to survey a #NPMS square: bsbi.org/take-part/ev...
Purple flowers of Bugle, a wild plant typical of damp meadows/ acid grassland
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Reposted by Kim L
Jake Dalzell @bitheolaidhe.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
I am starting a PhD and am looking for grassland restoration/rewilding sites in Northern Ireland! Please forward this flier to anyone who might be interested in having their land surveyed for fungi!
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Yorkshire Naturalists' Union @ynuorg.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
The YNU's latest publication, Yorkshire Plants 2024, is now available in the YNU shop. This new annual report from the YNU’s botany section compliments the joint @bcyorkshire.bsky.social annual Butterfly and Moth Report. You can purchase your copy for £5 here 👇 www.ynu.org.uk/join-the-ynu...
Front cover of YNU publication Yorkshire Plants 2024 featuring a bird's-eye primrose
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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Nature-lovers across the globe will come together on 24 April for an international BioBlitz! Botanical Skills Northern Ireland Project has an event at Carnmoney Hill, Belfast & all you need to join in is a smartphone & the free @inaturalist.bsky.social app! www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...
tickettailor.com
Select tickets – City Nature Challenge: Bioblitz in Carnmoney Hill, Antrim – Carnmoney Hill Local Nature Reserve, Carnmoney Hill, Newtownabbey
City Nature Challenge: Bioblitz in Carnmoney Hill, Antrim – Carnmoney Hill Local Nature Reserve, Carnmoney Hill, Newtownabbey, Fri 24 Apr 2026 - Do you love nature? Want a good excuse to get outside? ...
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Thanks to all the @bsbibotany.bsky.social Northern Ireland botanical recorders who joined us yesterday in Lough Neagh for a start of the season meet-up. We kicked off with Prunus ID, moving onto NI's temperate rainforest, studied scurvygrass samples, and spent a lovely afternoon recording together
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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Great article by @donnalferguson.bsky.social in today's @theguardian.com about Darwin & Henslow's plant specimens & illustrations and the fab new @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social Certificate in Botany: www.theguardian.com/environment/... Links for this course & many others here: bsbi.org/learn/traini...
theguardian.com
Cambridge offers botany course that inspired Darwin after rare archive uncovered
University’s botanic garden will use study materials created by John Stevens Henslow, the naturalist’s mentor, 200 years ago
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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Based in Northern Ireland? Want to support @npms.bsky.social & help unlock plant survey sites across NI? Then we have a fabulous volunteer opportunity for you! Check it out: bsbi.org/about/people...
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
I saw a Facebook post recently about #author Maria S. Cummins, and how her first #novel The Lamplighter outsold Moby Dick and The Scarlet Letter in 1854. So I hunted down a copy. Very much looking forward to #reading this! #booksky #femaleauthor
An old, red book with "The Lamplighter" and an intricate design etched into the cover in black
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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Yesterday our Botanical Skills Northern Ireland Team practiced how to use underwater drones to collect under-recorded aquatic plant specimens! The drone will also be used for our @bsbiireland.bsky.social #AquaticPlantProject & we hope to raise money for a 2nd drone to survey Scottish lochs.
facebook.com
Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland on Reels
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Reposted by Kim L
CEDaR @cedarrecordsni.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Join this year’s #CityNatureChallenge, April 24–27 & contribute to the world’s largest #CommunityScience event 🌍 With National Museums NI, Wild Belfast, @bsbibotany.bsky.social & BugLife All you need is the free @inaturalist.bsky.social app📲 Join the project: www.inaturalist.org/projects/cit...
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
First spin on my shiny new #spinningwheel - I'm terrible but enthusiastic!
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Thanks to Charles Shier for giving so much time and expertise this week, we've had a great crowd of new conifer students pass through the workshops!
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Reposted by Kim L
Big Meadow Search @bigmeadowsearch.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Whorled Caraway, Trocdaris verticillata. 15-30 threadlike leaflets, increasing in size along rachis, appears whorled. Stems striate and often purplish at base. Hairless. Mild celery smell. Distribution map taken from BSBI Plant Atlas 2020.
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Reposted by Kim L
BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
🌸Got a botanical study in mind?🌾🌼You can apply for a helpful @bsbibotany.bsky.social Study Grant- but do it soon: the deadline is 31 January. More info at bsbi.org/learn/grants.... @atu-ie.bsky.social @uniofgalway.bsky.social @tcddublin.bsky.social @phoebeobrien.bsky.social @mikekally.bsky.social
bsbi.org
Plant Study Grants
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Reposted by Kim L
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Are you planning to undertake a project in 2026 which involves collecting plant-related data? Would you like <£1,000 towards your costs? Apply for a #BSBIPlantStudyGrant! Here's how: bsbi.org/learn/grants... Read how a #BSBIGrant helped Katherine research ancient meadows: bsbi.org/blog/2026/01...
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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
🦋🌿Hiring 12 x Botanists or Entomologists for 2026 field surveys in England! 4-month, full-time roles from late April to early September. Field sites in Yorkshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Kent/Sussex, Lincolnshire/Cambridge, Essex/Suffolk. Apply now: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CEH_Ca... 🧪
Recruitment poster for 12 botanical or entomological field surveyors, April-September 2026. Closing date: January 30, 2026.
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Joined the @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social #NewYearPlantHunt today in Bull Island, we found to find 26 flowering species, inc. Rapistrum rugosum. Also spotted 13 species along footpaths near the entrance to the causeway, inc. Sun Spurge @bsbibotany.bsky.social
Euphorbia heliscopiaRapistrum rugosum
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Dr Jo Science @drjoscience.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Just been out recording my @bsbibotany.bsky.social #NewYearPlantHunt What plants can you spot in flower before 4th January? #ScienceIsEverywhere #BeCurious #DrJoScience #Plants
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James Common @commonbynature.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
40 species on today's #NewYearPlantHunt around the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. BBC Look North even stopped by for a while... 🎥 @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
We've been working with @metoffice.gov.uk to analyse 10 years of #NewYearPlantHunt data. The analysis provides the clearest evidence yet of how rising temperatures are impacting the British & Irish flora, with knock-on effects for all our wildlife. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Winter blooming of hundreds of plants in UK ‘visible signal’ of climate breakdown
New year plant hunt shows rising temperatures are shifting natural cycles of wildflowers such as daisies
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Delighted to explore Drumaness Village in Co Down today for a #NewYearPlantHunt with some of the locals. We managed to find 9 species flowering, interestingly some were not on the NI top 10! @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Lovely to chat just now to Nick Eardley on BBC Radio 5 Live about #NewYearPlantHunt on back of our work with @metoffice.gov.uk Plants are blooming out of synch with the wildlife that depend on them: how worried should we be? Catch our chat again here, starts at 17.40: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Radio 5 Live - Listen Live - BBC Sounds
Listen live to Radio 5 Live on BBC Sounds
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Kicked off my #NewYearPlantHunt with a quick walk around the block and found 10 flowering wildflowers in just over 10 minutes! @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Hopeful male Hazel (Corylus avellana) catkins getting their pollen ready early, in chilly North Leitrim. (Sharing these photos for the sheer unlikeliness of them coming out at all...trembly tree, gale force winds, flappy phone case and the wrong glasses 🤣) @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
So, what do we do with the #NewYearPlantHunt data that 1000s of #BSBImembers & supporters have collected over the past decade? 1 example: we joined forces with @metoffice.gov.uk to investigate correlations between rising temperatures & your plant records. Initial results: bsbi.org/about/news/l...
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
What's the perfect #ChristmasGift for the plant-lover in your life? If they're not already #BSBImembers, how about a year's membership of @bsbibotany.bsky.social? Choose a printed membership pack, posted to your loved one, or a digital pack pinging into their Inbox on Christmas Day. bsbi.org/gift
Botanists walk through a plant-filled landscape on Midsummer's Day, beneath a setting sun
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Things I'm doing instead of studying.... #rigidheddleloom #weaving #LastMinuteChristmasPresents
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Help us unlock the Plants of the Past, by supporting volunteers to digitise decades of paper records & inform C21st science! @biggive.bsky.social From #GivingTuesday to 9 Dec, we have £10K in matched funds to unlock: every donation, however small, will be doubled: donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...
donate.biggive.org
Unlocking the Plants of the Past – Big Give
Decades of botanical observations of our vital wild plants are trapped in paper records and archives - through the efforts …
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Kim L @mikekally.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Today, we learned about conifer identification in the grounds of Castlewellan Forest Park's stunning walled garden. Thanks to Charles Shier for such an educational day! @bsbiireland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
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BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Today as part of the Botanical Skills Northern Ireland project, Mel Flexen introduced a group to the botany and ecology of lowland raised bogs in Peatlands Park, Armagh. Plenty to see, even at this tine of year!
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Best time to join the growing ranks of #BSBImembers? In October to get 15 months of benefits for price of 12: that's when 100s of people inc @markavery.bsky.social & @alunsalt.bsky.social joined! 2nd best time? In November, to enjoy 14 months of benefits: bsbipublicity.blogspot.com/2025/10/bsbi...
bsbipublicity.blogspot.com
BSBI membership: save money with our autumn special offer
For the last three years, we have launched our   autumn membership special offer  by saying that 'in a rapidly changing world, our wild plan...
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BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
Thanks to all who joined us in Oxfird Island to celebrate #NPMS10! Between talks, we practiced Wildflower ID, indicators knowledge, hedgerow surveys, and @organicbotanic.bsky.social took us through botanical photography using a camera phone!
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James Harding-Morris @jameshardingmorris.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
I'm delighted that we have a whole range of talks from our Northern Ireland Botanical Skills Project taking place this winter on Tuesday evenings. Want to learn more about conifers? Rushes? Clubmosses? Hawthorns? Plant Pathogenic Fungi? ROBOTS?? See them all here: bsbi.org/botanical-sk...
bsbi.org
Botanical Skills Webinars – Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland
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Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Want to up your #WildFlowerID game this winter? We just launched our Winter Webinar programme! 7-8pm, every Tuesday from 4 Nov - 10 Feb. Thanks to funding from @daera-ni.gov.uk, these 10 great plant ID webinars are FREE for all of you to attend! Programme & booking links: bsbi.org/botanical-sk...
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BSBI Ireland @bsbiireland.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Want to learn more about the National Plant Monitoring Scheme #npms? Join our 10th anniversary celebrations on volunteer day in Oxford Island, Co Armagh on 25th October (www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...), or in Glenarm, Co Antrim on 6th November (www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...)
tickettailor.com
Select tickets – National Plant Monitoring Scheme: 10th Anniversary Celebrations, Northern Ireland – Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, County Armagh
National Plant Monitoring Scheme: 10th Anniversary Celebrations, Northern Ireland – Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, County Armagh, Sat 25 Oct 2025 - The National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS) turns 10...
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