LLP Project Report April 2021 - Oct 2021

Quarterly report (Apr. 2021 - Oct. 2021). Project Ref: HG– 15-03574

Update Report No.8

April 2021 - October 2021 Welcome to our 8th edition of the Love Lincs Plants (LLP) project update and final activities report. Learn more about what has been achieved this year and opportunities to get involved in this exciting National Lottery Heritage Fund project beyond 2021 as we approach our legacy period.

National Lottery Open Week After a period of over eighteen months without face to face contact with our project volunteers and members of the public it was a real pleasure to take part in the National Lottery Open Week celebrations on Saturday 5th June. Held at Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust’s Banovallum House gardens in Horncastle, attendees had a chance to speak directly to project staff about future opportunities as well as view our new raised beds in the wildlife garden. Guests were also signposted to view the new project interpretation at the recently opened Sir Joseph Banks Centre museum in the town.

“It was a really good show and fantastic to see so many people there. Congratulations! .”

Caroline Steel, Lincoln on the Boultham Park Light show on 23rd October.

To celebrate the end of the formal phase of the project (2017– Dec 2021) we have hosted a series of spectacular finale events to say thank you to partners, volunteers and our funder The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This included an invite only and three public light show dusk events in October working in partnership with the Different Light Collective. These sensory events offered an opportunity to view projected images from the Lincspirational Plants art competition, read haiku poems from local school children and listen to music inspired by nature arranged by Sinfonia Viva. Starting with Gibraltar Point on the 1st October, it was a pleasure to thank our funders, volunteers and partners under the canopy of a starlit night on the Lincolnshire Coast. This was followed by three public events at the majestic Boston Stump (St.Botolph’s Church) and the Wildlife Trust’s headquarters in Horncastle. Our finale event at Boultham Park in Lincoln on the 23rd October captivated over 1,500 people as we lit up the park trees and promoted the power of plants to people within the city.

Local residents mingled in the twilight, taking part in the fantastic light show parade organised by Lumoworkshop artists and Sir Francis Hill Primary School while learning more about the project and the work of our partners. In addition we launched our online art auction of the Lincspirational Plant art as well hosting an exhibition of the actual pieces at the Sir Joseph Banks Centre in Horncastle.

1

Project finale: Light shows and art exhibition October 2021

Public engagement To wrap up our series of free online Great Lives talks, we were delighted to welcome Dr Sandra Knapp from the Natural History Museum in London in May. Dr Knapp highlighted the importance of examining old and new herbaria to understand environmental change while stressing how small, local herbarium collections are incredibly valuable in that they often hold specimens not found in larger collections. Reaching over 260 people across the globe, these talks were a fantastic way to engage with audiences that would otherwise not have been able to attend a traditional lecture. All of our Great Lives talks are now in the process of being made available on the Trust’s project YouTube channel.

Following on from our winter Lincspirational Plants art competition it was fantastic to engage with the artists and the general public at our inaugural exhibition at the Wilderspin National School Museum in Barton-uponHumber (middle). Working in partnership with the Barton Art’s Festival in late July, over 150 visitors viewed the final 30 winning pieces as well as purchasing replica post cards to raise funds for the Wildlife Trust. Over 500 people attended a further two exhibitions at Whisby Natural World Centre and at the Sir Joseph Banks Centre in September and October.

Building on our engagement with the Lincolnshire Heritage Open Days in 2019, LWT communication staff engaged with 81 visitors at Banovallum House Nature Reserve; on the 12th September promoting our wildlife demonstration garden and the new herbarium collection at the Sir Joseph Banks Centre in Horncastle.

Herbarium volunteers and 18-35 botanists - keeping in touch After the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in July our priority was to maintain strong links with our dedicated volunteers at the Sir Joseph Banks Centre herbarium as well as our cohort of 18-35 botanists. Unfortunately due to the pandemic we had been unable to work with these groups since the beginning of 2020. However, despite this long break it was evident that our herbarium volunteers had not lost their eye for detail and hand skills when mounting our precious herbarium specimens. A total of nine core volunteers attended three (socially distanced) herbarium mounting refresher sessions, adding a further 30 specimens to the collection (top images). In early September we also delivered our first coastal plants identification session with nine of our enthusiastic 18-35 botanists. Hosted at LWT Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes by Tish Cookson from the Dynamic Dunescapes project (National Lottery Heritage Fund) and delivered by Dr Louise Denning (Natural England) the weekend was well received and highlighted the demand for further botany sessions beyond 2021.

2

Young Botanists: In their words.

To date the project has trained over 200 young botanists in plant identification, collection or plant mounting with twenty core 18-35 year old botanists attending several sessions. In this report we have caught up with two botanists who are developing their career in nature conservation.

Collette Tait, Spilsby.

What skills and knowledge have you gained from taking part in Love Lincs Plants?

My name is Collette Tait. I have been lucky enough to participate in some of the courses run by LoveLincsPlants, which have included Winter Twig Identification, Woodland Flora and Ecology Training, Herbarium mounting skills and specimen collection.

The courses have been really engaging and fun and have given me the confidence to pursue a career in botany. I feel much more equipped in terms of plant identification and have been introduced to other skills, such as mapping vegetation, which will be imperative in applying for work once I have completed my degree. The courses have also allowed me to meet other like-minded people and make links with professionals with whom I can gain experience in the future. I had an interest in botany prior to attending the courses, however, that passion was really ignited when I was able to spend time learning about local plant ecology, in more depth, with experts.

Since attending the courses, it has given me the incentive to gain more practical experience and knowledge. I have booked multiple botanical courses both online and face-to-face whilst also completing the final year of my degree. I have incorporated botanical surveying within the final modules of my degree to continue developing the skills which I have learnt through LoveLincsPlants. I have also joined the committee for the local branch of Butterfly Conservation (which was signposted to me by the LoveLincsPlants Team), and I have also attended a course on wildflowers and their interactions with specific lepidoptera.

Where do you see these new skills and knowledge taking you in the future?

I believe that it is important to appreciate the wider context of botany and the effects of plants and their interactions with multiple organisms within ecosystems. I love living in Lincolnshire and appreciate the diverse habitats and the plants which they support. Lincolnshire is, however, predominantly agricultural and there is much scope for extending existing species-rich habitats and improving biodiversity, which starts with vegetation. I hope, that ultimately, I can contribute to improving the local biodiversity through habitat surveying and advising landowners about how to best manage their land for themselves and for wildlife. This is what I hope to achieve in the future, and I feel that LoveLincsPlants has given me the foundation to be able to attain this goal.

Adam Lucas, Boston.

What is your journey into botany and what benefits do you get from the world of plants?

My interest in plants started when I volunteered at a china clay museum in Cornwall and I was asked to produce an identification guide to the flora on the site. Although this project was unfortunately cancelled before it could be realised, my enthusiasm for botany was begun.

From there, I became a recorder for the Botanical Society in Hampshire, contributing records for the BSBI Atlas 2020 project. I have since expanded to include fungal recording for the British Mycolological Society.

I have been involved in the Love Lincs Plants project since 2019. In that time, I have gained a number of personal benefits. Firstly, my social circle has improved through making contact with the organisers and other volunteers. It has also reinforced my pre-existing relationships within the South Lincolnshire Flora Group (left) and through my involvement with the project, I came to discover that a North Lincolnshire group will be established as well. It has also 3

A conversation with Adam….continued.. allowed me to interact with those with similar interests and build up my social and professional network. Additionally, my involvement in the project has helped to improve my confidence by granting me experience in working in a team environment and leaving an important and long-lasting legacy. I am also more confident in using the skills I have developed through this project. Because of the outdoor nature of the project, I have experienced an improvement in my physical health, not just in terms of fitness and exercise but also just being outside has had a benefit on my mental health as it is very relaxing but also fulfilling to be involved in something so worthwhile. As a result of this, I have noticed that my wellbeing and personal attitude have changed as my self-esteem and self worth have increased.

Adam logging specimen records at the Sir Joseph

I have acquired a number of new skills and knowledge during this time. I am now able to archive plant specimens into families and genera using the numbering system of Stace Edition 4. This has also enabled me to locate taxa in Stace 4 more efficiently. I can use herbarium data to extrapolate where and when the specimen was collected and who has worked on the specimen during the entire herbarium process. This is an important skill because it allows me to interpret specimen provenance data effectively. Another skill I have developed on this project is the ability to successfully transfer data from the specimen collection sheets on to the database spreadsheet using Excel.

This will then aid future curators and researchers when studying the specimens. In addition to these skills, I have developed a knowledge of the various herbarium curation techniques used in this project. For example, I now know what goes into collecting the specimens and recording the relevant data in the field. I also know what information is pertinent to a herbarium curator and is required to be entered into a database.

In the future, I wish to use these skills and knowledge to further my career in botany and biological recording. This can be achieved by pursuing more voluntary roles with the Wildlife Trust, Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, and the British Mycological Society. I would like to focus primarily on plant and fungus recording and surveying. I would also like to gain more knowledge and experience at identifying plant and fungus species. The experience I have gathered through the Love Lincs Plants project will help in this by giving me the opportunity to transpose these skills to another herbarium elsewhere in the country.

Interpretation at Wildlife Trust garden and digital resources To tell the conservation story behind our new habitat raised beds at the Trust’s HQ Wildlife Garden, the project officer has worked with LWT Communication Officer, Jade Oliver, to produce three contemporary interpretation panels. Each panel explains the conservation value of our limestone and heathland/ acid grassland habitats in the county, using illustrations from renowned wildlife artist Lizzie Harper . A third panel has been installed in the grounds of the garden to inform visitors about the range of habitats present and the value of wildlife gardening. Using QR codes, all three panels contain links to further information about the construction methods and species growing within the raised beds as well as information about meadow management and how to attract wildlife to your garden. By embedding QR codes into the design it has allowed us to easily update our webpages with information that is fresh and relevant. Find out more here.

Above: Limestone grassland raised bed information panel Left: QR codes provide links to more information.

4

News from partners.

Over 8,000 Historic Specimens

by Dr Mark Carine (NHM, London) The easing of lockdown restrictions and the return to onsite working has meant that project officer Debra Turner and the rest of the Natural History Museum team have been able to make good progress with processing the historical Lincolnshire Naturalist Union herbarium. As of mid-September, 8104 specimens from the Woodruffe-Peacock and Gibbons herbaria had been processed and are fully accessible on the Museum’s data portal: https:// data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/lincs-plants. In September we reached a significant milestone of 8,000 mounted specimens (left - Mare’s Tail from North Lincolnshire). We are adding to that total every week and are on course to achieve our goal of completing the c. 9000 specimens in the herbarium by the end of the project. In addition to the historical collections, data for more than 560 specimens collected by project partners during the last three years are also now available on the data portal. Those specimens are currently being mounted and images will be available soon.

Associated with those contemporary collections are 375 samples deposited in our Molecular Collections Facility (Bottom image). The new workflows developed for processing those molecular samples by Kath Castillo and colleagues in the molecular collection and data management teams are an important legacy that will be adopted for other projects in the future.

New collections are continuing to arrive from Lincolnshire and we look forward to receiving a specimen of Newton’s apple tree from Woolsthorpe Manor. Newton’s interests lay outside of botany but we hold many specimens that were made by his late 17 th and early 18th century contemporaries. Indeed, the collection of Hans Sloane, who succeeded Newton as President of the Royal Society, is our foundation collection. Sloane would probably have been aware of Newton’s apple tree. More than 350 years after the publication of Newton’s Principia we will at last be acquiring a specimen.

We were sorry to say goodbye to project officer Kath Castillo and NHM lead Fred Rumsey at the end of June. Debra Turner continues her work on the historical herbaria until the end of 2021 and Mark Carine, Principal Curator for the botanical collections is the NHM lead for the remainder of the project.

Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Union (LNU)

by Chris Manning The LNU collected specimens for the first time since 2019 at The Shrubberies at Long Sutton on 25th July and again at Kirkstead Mill on the River Witham in August. A final collection event took place at Sudbrooke Scout Campsite, near Lincoln on the 12th September. It was good to see some of our younger botanists present.

The Union has also coordinated the delivery of five natural history workshop sessions for the autumn period, starting with an introduction to identifying the tricky small yellow daisy species (Asteraceae family) with Vice County Recorder Sarah Lambert on the 18th September and a herbarium pressing session with Sue Fysh at Whisby Education Centre near Lincoln. Click here for more details.

Fred Rumsey has been elected as our President Elect and will deliver his Presidential Address at our AGM in March 2023.

5

Event Tweet: The LNU are delivering several natural history workshops in September and October: Including a herbarium pressing refresher session on 25th Sept with LLP project officer Sue Fysh.

News from partners.

Sir Joseph Banks Society

by Paul Scott (SJBS Trustee)

The early part of the period covered in this report was still subject to some Covid-19 restrictions, however we were able to open our new Natural Science & Heritage Centre on May 18th. Footfall has been very good over the summer period and the exhibitions we have delivered have received good feedback. One exhibition alone (Railway exhibition) saw 2,000 visitors over a one-week period. During this whole period our LLP exhibition has been prominent at the main entrance to the museum, whilst high numbers will have seen the display, I estimate that about 300 have been directly engaged regarding LLP by front of house staff and society staff.

It’s good to report that we have also carried out a small number of face-toface talks for local groups, our talks are generally about Sir Joseph Banks but do contain a high content of botany and of course we tell the audience about LLP together with associated marketing banners and handling collections. Both talks attended have complied with sensible social distancing of the audience and well-ventilated halls. Most attendees were wearing face coverings.

The highlight event for us within this period was Heckington show (top right) Although only on one day instead of two and much cut down in terms of attendees (6000) there is no doubt that all participants enjoyed the show and the weather was unusually good.

This excellent atmosphere and the fact that it was most attendees first major show for over two years meant that there was a higher engagement with exhibitors than past shows n my opinion). Our stand was excellently liveried by LLP marketing banners and exhibits together with handling collections from our museum. I have suggested that at least 3000 people saw us and that we engaged with at least 10% of them, (300) we never stopped all day.

One significant visit to the centre took place over this period, Professor Libby John the Pro-Vice Chancellor/Head of the College of Science was accompanied by two colleagues, a Professor of Zoology and a Professor of Biology. This visit was to explore future partnerships, but also to develop more formal opportunities for students from the University of Lincoln to undertake placements and volunteer opportunities within our new natural science centre. We were able to show them the excellent progress on LLP together with our other museum collections. We have also been working very closely with the Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Union (LNU) to acquire other significant natural history collections which complements the Lincolnshire Herbarium. These objects and the skills of the LNU recorders and members will form the basis of our work to support the new natural history GSCE currently being developed by OCR. As we move into the final stages of the project, we are now working with partners to develop the post project phase and look forward to continuing to add specimens to the Lincolnshire Herbarium, but also to usefully disseminate the knowledge gained via education, research and publication.

University Of Lincoln

By Dr Carl Soulsbury During March to May, the University of Lincoln enjoyed learning about plant surveying and plant ID-ing as part of the Level 3 Practical Skills in Conservation module. Over 60 students visited the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trusts Whisby Nature Park site, where they received a talk from warden Graham Hopwood and spent an afternoon at the Dynamic Dunescapes Project at Saltfleetby.

During June, a group of Life Sciences and Geography students also spent a day at Saltfleetby carrying out plant identification and sampling in the dunes landscape. Over the summer time, a number of students have begun short (10 week) and long (year-long) placements, including Lorna Allen (right) who has spent ten weeks with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, including honing her botany skills. She has come away with a new passion for grasses.

As we move towards the start of term we welcome a new cohort of students and say goodbye to our first graduates. During the course of this project, the BSc Ecology and Conservation degree has benefitted immeasurably from working with the LoveLincs Plants project. This project provides a strong legacy of partnership amongst all project partners, that will benefit the next generation of ecologists for years to come.

6

BSc Ecology & Conservation student, Lorna, assisting with Wildlife Trust site assessments on placement.

Herbarium Knowledge Hub online It was a pleasure to work with Nottingham based wildlife film maker Jack Perks on the production of our ‘How to make a herbarium’ video. Using the Wildlife Trust’s Woodhall Spa Airfield Nature Reserve in Mid Lincolnshire to shoot the specimen collection process (top image) the film goes on to capture the herbarium processing steps from freezing and data logging to mounting, digitisation and curation at the Sir Joseph Banks Centre. This video will sit within our new online herbarium knowledge hub that will act as a guide to students and interest groups through the key steps to creating a robust herbarium collection that is of scientific value. The hub will include links to herbarium equipment and resources as well as a detailed video on how to mount specimens produced by NHM project officer, Kath Castillo (bottom eft).

It is hoped that this digital resource, hosted on the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust (LWT) website will help to secure the legacy of the project beyond the county.

To view the ‘How to make a herbarium’ video go to the LWT YouTube channel here. To access the Herbarium Hub click.

Newton’s Apple Tree collection Despite the long, cold start to 2021 we were eventually able to complete the collection of our final remaining Inspirational Plant Specimens. This included a collection of Cowslip from Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve with Barry Wilkinson, former warden and special advisor to the Trust. After a slow start to spring we are also delighted to collect several specimens from the world renowned ‘Newton’s Apple Tree’ or Gravity Tree at Woolsthorpe Manor near Grantham in July. Working with the National Trust Collections Manager, Jennie Johns (right) we were able to find a gap in the weather to add four specimens to the Sir Joseph Banks Centre and British and Irish Collection at NHM London. These specimens will be curated within these collections over the autumn period and will be made available to view online at NHM and SJBS. THANK YOU TO OUR PROJECT TEAM: Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and partners would like to recognise the delivery undertaken by the two LLP Community & Education Officers, Suzanne Fysh and Kevin Widdowson. Both their roles completed at the end of July, and their contributions to the project were invaluable and we thank them for their efforts, which will live on into the legacy era. We would also like to thank senior NHM curator, Dr Fred Rumsey, who retired from the museum this summer for his expert advice and guidance throughout the project as well as NHM project officer Kath Castillo for helping us to create a new herbarium for the county. We wish you well for the future.

2021 events • • •

Lincspirational Plants Art Exhibition: 1st –29th September at The Natural World Centre, Whisby, Lincoln Lincspirational Plants Art Exhibition: 1st-31st October at The Joseph Banks Society Centre, Horncastle.

Lincspirational Plants Light Show finale events in October: 8th Oct. (Boston Stump/St.Botolph’s Church), 9th October (Banovallum House, Horncastle), 23rd October (Boultham Park, Lincoln), More event info here •

Online Lincspirational Plants Art Auction: 1st-31st October. Details here 7