Botany Classes
We now have dates and are taking bookings for our Botany evening classes at both our Maidstone and Canterbury venues and our Plant Identification in the Field summer school next year. Further information on these courses can be found below.
Botany Evening Classes
Our Botany Evening Classes cover the Botanical identification of wild and naturalised British plants.
Participants will learn how to confidently identify and record plants and seek confirmation when necessary. They will identify plants in families and genera by the use of keys, specimens and descriptions.
Each week concentrates on the identification of a genus of plants in Kent with specimens, PowerPoint presentations and a quiz on the previous week’s plants. Plants will be identified by comparison of specimens to find species, and the use of keys to assign names. Cribs to the identification of species in Kent will be produced.
The classes are led by Alex Lockton, who has thirty years’ experience working as a lecturer in ecology at Birmingham University and Manchester Metropolitan University, as coordinator of the Botanical Society of the British Isles, and as an ecological consultant. He is author of The Flora and Vegetation of Shropshire (2015).
Please note that this is not a beginners' course. Botanical keys will be used to identify specimens and botanical terms used.
It would be useful for participants to bring their own wildflower books and hand lenses, but some are available for use on the day. This venue is suitable for wheelchair users - if you have any specific accessibility issues, please contact us in advance.
Plant Identification in the Field
We will be working in partnership with University of Kent to run a week-long botany course from Monday 23 June to Friday 27 June 2025. On each day of this course a new site will be visited and explored with the aim of identifying plants using identification guides, keys, apps and by collecting specimens.
The course is led by Alex Lockton, The cost for this five-day course is£215 per person.
