This self-study course is aimed at anyone new to studying this fascinating group of plants, and will concentrate on the principles of grass identification. You will learn key identification features and grass families and be able to identify a range of grasses by the end. The course will give you an opportunity to learn and practice your identification skills, and to build up a collection of specimens and associated notes. This course can only be undertaken between May and September when flowering grasses are available. If you book at another time of the year the course materials will be sent to you in early May.
The course will cover the following topics:
• Grass structure, terminology and features commonly used for ID
• Grass families and clues to their ID
• How to use keys and field guides to identify species.
By the end of the course, participants will have learnt how to recognise some of the common species of grass found in the UK, will be familiar with grass features and structures and know how to use keys to identify grasses.
How is the course delivered?
The course is online and can be started at any time and will take about 4-6 hours to complete. At the end there will be a short quiz and if you get over 70% you will receive a Certificate.
Video run-time: 1hr 58 mins – allow time to stop and take notes and look at your samples.
What you need:
You will need a grass ID book, one of these or similar:
•FSC Chart Guide to Common Grasses.
•Francis Rose 1989 – Colour identification Guide to the Grasses, Sedges Rushes and Ferns of the British Isles and north-western Europe –Penguin Group
•C.E Hubbard 1992 – Grasses A guide to their structure, identification, uses and distribution in British Isles – 3rd Edition – Penguin Group
You will need to collect 5-10 grass samples before you start the video that you can refer to.
A hand lens or magnifying glass would be useful.
You might also want to have a hardback sketchbook and some sticky tape to put your samples in.
How will I be assessed?
You will have to identify 10 grass species and send evidence (e.g. photograph/video) that you have done this.
At the end there will be a short quiz and if you get over 70% you will receive a Certificate.
Course outline:
Part 1
•What is a grass?
•Grass anatomy
•Features used to identify grasses
•How to use keys
Part 2
•Common grasses – identification
•Practice using Keys and identifying your samples
Part 3
•Field visit with the tutor
•Tutor showing field notebook
Enjoyed this and found it helped me put together a lot of isolated islets of knowledge into islands. Hope they will soon start to coalesce into countries, then continents !!
It has been very helpful in learning the lingo / technical terms for things which will help me enormously in using my ID guide! (e.g. I now know what a ligule is and where to find it! ). It is also good to know that the certain species I thought I knew, such as Yorkshire Fog, were indeed Yorkshire Fog, and I have learnt some new species, too :). Thank you very much for putting this course together
I found the course VERY useful. I started doing some work on learning about grasses last summer, but got distracted and before you know it, it’s October. The course has opened my eyes to grasses, and on my morning walk today, I found myself constantly scanning the grasses and identifying/attempting to identify them. I found it interesting, and that makes it easier for me to learn. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the course to anybody wishing to learn about grasses. The video was great, it make things a bit more interactive. Also, the fieldwork part of it REALLY worked for me… if I can go out and see stuff rather than just reading about it, it helps massively
A great introduction to the world of grasses.
The teaching is excellent. It’s clear, precise and easy to follow. The knowledge from Sue is fantastic and it’s taught in a very understandable way with no rush. It’s been really good and I feel I’ve been able to retain the information well because of the way the course has been taught.
I liked the course, it was very comprehensive. I’m surprised how much I enjoyed the online elements of the course, I thought I would do better in a face to face course but honestly being able to go at my own pace is really working for me as I can spend time on the bits I find tricky as they come up rather than making a note to look things up later… I like the YouTube videos, being able to pause or even speed up the video to match my pace works well for me. I do feel like I learnt a lot. I would 100% recommend the course to others
Depth of knowledge was excellent.
Useful links, detailed information, great supporting photos
Flexibility and easy to follow layout.
I liked the ability to undertake the course at my own pace.
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The final exam is designed to test whether you have learned the appropriate knowledge and skills during this course. If you take the final exam and do not pass, we encourage you to review the course material and ensure you have read, understood and remembered the lessons. We want you to get the most out of this course and provide you with the knowledge and confidence you need to apply what you learn to your job or career. You may retake the final test once you have revisited the course material.
Yes! We want you to get as much out of this course as possible. We encourage you to refer back to your course materials from time to time to refresh your memory and ensure that you are confident on the subject. Therefore, when you purchase this course, you will have lifetime access to the course materials.
