Happy Valentine’s Day! Let’s celebrate our love of all that is poofy, floofy and foliose!
The organism known as a lichen is an ancient relationship between an algae and a fungus and fascinating in form and function. Let’s not forget that yeasts and cyanobacteria also make an appearance, demonstrating that there are lots of ways for epiphytes to canoodle in the treetops as they share nutrients and resources.
To really study moss, lichens and liverworts you need good moss habitat, magnification and a robust selection of mosses – and we have all three! Join us for an interactive learning experience that will sharpen your observation skills and teach you how to step through identification of our most common species of bryophytes (non-vascular plants like mosses), lichens and even a liverwort or two! Don’t know the difference between a liverwort and a lichen? We’ve got you covered! Participants will learn the basics of lichen and moss biology and how to recognize common species in the Pacific Northwest. One of our sharpest ‘tools of the naturalist’ is honing your pattern-recognition skills, and these small, green and fluffy species will help us do just that. Plus, they never run (or fly, or jump) away!
THINGS TO KNOW
- This class is rain or shine, so please dress in layers and always bring a rain layer, gloves and hat at this time of year.
- If you have a jeweler’s loupe, or magnifying hand lens please bring it with you. We have them to lend too.
- Due to the content and pace of this program, we are listing this as a youth & adults only class.
- Please remember our campus policy is ‘no dogs unless they are a service animal.’
- We always cap off our hikes with a sweet treat of our homemade cookies too!
Christina Woolf, IslandWood’s Senior Naturalist
Your instructor for this session will be IslandWood staff naturalist, Christina Woolf. Christina is a Master Birder (Seattle Audubon, 2011), WDFW Wetland Monitor (2014), Certified Beach Naturalist (2014), and Certified Interpretive Guide (National Association of Interpretation (2015), and has been joyfully teaching environmental education for over 20 years. Christina has been studying under her bryologist mentor, Phoebe Goit, for over five years. Phoebe is one of western Washington’s most knowledgeable scientists in macrolichens of the PNW. The mentoring and sharing continues in this fun class!
