Are you ready to take a casual interest in lichens to the next level? This special all-day workshop is intended for keen beginners and intermediates who would like to advance their identification abilities.

We’ll start with a presentation on lichen identification, with a focus on the terminology that is used in dichotomous keys. After the presentation we’ll go and collect lichens in the mature forests and metabasalt rock outcrops on the institute’s 900 acres. After lunch (included), we’ll look at the specimens under dissecting and compound microscopes. We’ll do chemical tests and examine spores. We will also key things out as a group and individually.

We will provide microscopes, dichotomous keys, and chemicals.

Age: Adults only.

Cost: $75, which goes toward supporting programs at Clifton.

Maximum enrollment: 4 people but up to 8 people welcome if you can bring your own microscopes

About the program leader: Bert Harris is a Co-Director of the Clifton Institute. He is an amateur lichenologist who has the goal of producing a reference to make Mid Atlantic lichen identification easier for beginners.

Email Bert with any questions bharris@cliftoninstitute.org