The Lichen project which commenced in 2021, examines the concept of “Ancientness” using cryptogamic botany* information to complement extant data in Irish Woodlands, and involves an experimental approach to induction training of the 2 staff members of Woodlands of Ireland, by Howard Fox and Maria Cullen. This was an ambitious undertaking to visit and collect data in 16 listed potential ancient woodland sites in counties Donegal, Mayo, and Clare. See https://data.gov.ie/dataset/ancient-and-long-established-woodland-inventory-2010 for further details of the listing. A summary of the results of the project has been made available to the Heritage Council.
All records of data on species and habitats gathered in the project field work will be submitted to the National Biodiversity Data Centre, for the purposes of becoming available on public record. The project aims are:
- Development of a format for induction-level training.
- A Woodlands of Ireland Information Note will be compiled in due course.
We will post further updates on the project as they become available
*See http://www.cryptogamicbotanycompany.com/lm_wcb.html (Cryptogamic Botany is the field of study of spore-producing plants and similar spore-producing organisms.)
Project Update from 2021:
Discover more about Woodland Cryptogamic Botany in the video below from the Native Woodlands Conference 2018: “Twenty Years A-Growing”. Download the presentation in PDF format.