Loved looking at liverworts under the microscope ? Or mossed out 🌿on our recent Bryophyte ID workshop? This is your opportunity to get up close and personal with Bryophytes in the Field!
Join LTU Botsoc for a field day to Sherbrooke Creek in the Dandenong Ranges to hunt for mosses, liverworts and hornworts! Botsoc Alumni Nina Kerr will lead us for a walk along the creek, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for these non-vascular beauties. We will also have the chance to stop by the charming Sherbrooke Falls.
Explore the forest with a new perspective, and learn more about these incredible plants which are often overlooked.
Date: Sunday 4th May
Time: 10 am - 1:30 pm
Location: Ferny Creek Recreation Reserve (https://maps.app.goo.gl/pgcax87GBXQZyquD7 )
What to expect:
A short (5-10 min) walk from the recreation reserve down a walking track to Sherbrooke Creek where we will explore for an hour or two. After this, those that would like to can continue along the main walking track for a look at Sherbrooke Falls, or return to the recreation reserve.
Please bring:
- Water and your own lunch
- Cool/warm clothing, sunscreen and a raincoat
- Sturdy, closed footwear and gaiters or long trousers are also essential as tracks can be uneven and muddy
- A hand lens, if you have one!
About Bryophytes…
Bryophytes are a group of primitive non-vascular plants, with radically different anatomical structure and life cycle to the flowering plants we tend to focus on. As a result they're often ignored in surveys despite their unique and fascinating characteristics. Bryophytes include mosses and the related hepatics (liverworts and hornworts) which are components of any terrestrial ecosystem, contributing to moisture retention, carbon sequestration, and even provide sheltered habitat for insect larvae and microfauna! As a result, bryophytes are critically important indicators of ecosystem health, worthy of closer inspection.
Nina Kerr graduated from La Trobe in 2020 with a Bachelor of Biological Science. Since then, she has worked as a consulting Botanist at Ecology Australia and became interested in bryophytes after learning there are 60 threatened FFG-listed bryophytes in Victoria. This led to a rapid descent into the realms of bryophyte identification. Nina now enjoys a mild obsession with these little plants, especially lodging and photographing under-recorded species, of which there are many.
Thanks to Nina, for supporting our insatiable desire for bryophyte knowledge, and for also providing us with the lovely photos
Please contact us directly at botanysocietyltu@gmail.com if you have any questions about this event.
Botsoc supports carpooling wherever possible. If you would like to collaborate on transportation, contact us and we will do what we can to assist.
