Wildflowers Count - Survey Pack

I recently saw that the charity Plantlife have an annual survey and got very excited indeed! I feel that over the past year my identification abilities have increased quite a lot. Not only am I needing to ask the people over at Wild About Britain for identification help less, most of my posts on there are noting my method reaching my identification - and happily hearing that people agree with it (most of the time).

So I felt the time was right for me to have a go at doing a survey and sent off for a survey pack. Within a day I received an email from the Wildflowers Count Survey Officer, Sue Southway, with lots of information and explaining further that the aim of the survey is to look at long term plant population trends, which will help with understanding the effects of pollution and climate change.

I (impatiently) waited for my pack to arrive. Then, last week, it did arrive!

Survey Pack

So, what was in the pack?

• There was a survey safety guidance sheet, which includes a really helpful checklist to ensure that all surveyors ensure that they have their safety in mind during the surveys.
• Survey guidance notes were also included. This provides instructions on how to select and survey the 1km wildflower path, the 5 x 5 metre plot, and the 1 x 20 metre plot - Plantlife note that you can choose to do either or all of the surveys.
• A leaflet that explains and encourages more people to join in the survey. Which I shall pass on to my living churchyard group this coming weekend.
• A recording sheet that has all the plant species and habitat types listed.
• A map of my area.
• Most importantly an excellent full colour booklet that provides an illustration and a photograph of each of the 99 plants that are included in the survey. The identification points are very clear and concise. Each species entry includes the flowering time, habitat and information on the leaves and stems of each species. Ideally the plants are organised by flower colour.

Importantly the 99 plants are selected to be easy to identify. The list includes herbaceous plants; such as Buttercups, ferns; such as Bracken, trees; such as Scots Pine, and shrubs; such as Hawthorn.

The square I was allocated is currently being built on. Hundreds of houses have popped up in the past couple of years, with more appearing on a weekly basis. However, the square next to my square has a right of way path that follows a stream, meaning that I could easily perform all three surveys. I had a quick chat over email with Sue and she was happy that I changed squares and emailed me across a new copy of the map.

So, now I have everything I need to get on with the surveys. How did I get on? I'll let you all know in a future post.

If you'd like to become involved, then you can find out more on the Wildflowers Count page on the Plantlife website.
You can also follow Plantlife on Twitter: @Love_plants


Have you completed some of these surveys in the past? I've love to hear your experiences, or any questions about the surveys, down in the comments.