FURTHER TRAINING: NATIONAL PLANT MONITORING SCHEME

Location: Glen Nevis, Scotland

In-person/on the hill spring 2021 workshop - Two dates are offered for this workshop based in Scotland - the same workshop will run on each date. The workshop is not only available to MTA members who have signed up as NPMS volunteers, and will be of interest to anyone with an interest in learning more about the habitats and vegetation of upland environments.

The MTA has undertaken to support the work of the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS) by helping to provide information on the condition of habitats and vegetation within the British uplands. The NPMS is a project that is coordinated by Plantlife, one the UK’s leading conservation charities, on behalf of a number of NPMS partner organisations. Information on the condition of habitats and vegetation for the NPMS is collected by volunteer vegetation surveyors.

NPMS coverage of British upland habitats is patchy, and contributions from MTA members in these areas would make a valuable contribution towards monitoring the health of Britain’s upland environments. A series of MTA webinars have provided an introduction to the NPMS to encourage MTA members to participate in this exciting project, and have provided some background information on the types of habitats most likely to occur within upland NPMS survey areas.

As a supplement to the MTA webinars, a series of hill-based cpd days is planned within the Glen Nevis area of Lochaber in the Western Highlands of Scotland. The cpd days will provide further assistance for MTA members with their preparations for undertaking NPMS surveys during the spring and summer, and will cover the following main areas:

• A review of the main habitat and vegetation types likely to be encountered at NPMS upland survey locations. This will revisit and expand upon information covered in MTA webinars, including distinctive plant species for each habitat type, ecological characteristics and types of habitat management;

• A review of NPMS survey methods with opportunities to practice vegetation survey and completion of NPMS survey recording forms for different NPMS habitat types;

• A day out in an area of fabulous mountain scenery.

You should come equipped for a day on the hill, with adequate food and drink. The proposed itinerary will use some existing hill paths but will mainly access hill and mountain terrain with no paths. If you would like to have a map with you, we will be on OS 1:25 000 Explorer sheet 392 or OS 1:50 000 Landranger sheet 41 or the Harvey equivalent sheets.

About NPMS - the National Plant Monitoring Scheme

The National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS) is a national habitat-based monitoring scheme that has been developed by a partnership of plant conservation charities and government conservation bodies. The Scheme collects information on habitat and vegetation provided by volunteer vegetation surveyors.

The NPMS needs greater survey coverage within hill and mountain areas, and would greatly value contributions from MTA members who would be interested in undertaking habitat and vegetation surveys.

One of the great things about the NPMS is that it has several levels of survey input, from beginner to more accomplished vegetation survey and assessment, where all levels of survey are of value to the NPMS. The Scheme is supported by plenty of resources and expert training opportunities to help MTA members to build their knowledge and identification skills in upland habitats and vegetation.

FIND OUT MORE

Useful resources:

• You can find out all about the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS) on our website her: https://www.npms.org.uk/, including how to get involved.

• Take a look at our NPMS squares map to fid out if there is an available survey square near you! https://www.npms.org.uk/square-near-me-public

• All NPMS materials and guidance booklets for the NPMS are available digitally to download as PDFs at http://www.npms.org.uk/content/resources

Workshop host:

David Broom - An experienced ecologist who runs a number of environmental workshops across various MTA regions throughout the year.

Meeting point:

Steall Falls Car Park – Glen Nevis OS Grid Ref: NN 16759 69125

How to book:

Click the Book Online button to secure your place. Ideally, you will have attended the 'Intro to NPMS' and the further training webinars prior to this event and have an interest in volunteering.

Start

15/05/2021 09:00

End

15/05/2021 17:00

Total Days

1

Maximum Bookings

12

Bookings

9

Venue

Steall Falls Car Park – Glen Nevis

Town

Glen Nevis

County

Glen Nevis

Postcode

CA12 5XE

Country

UK

Latitude

54.51779

Longitude

-3.15205

Name

Mountain Training Association

Phone

..

Email