Author: Frances StoakleyPage 1 of 2
Welcome to the world of the small! Let us take you on a tour of the lichens you can find here at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Pick…
‘Life on rock’ Lichens are a rich part of our natural heritage – they thrive in the clean air and varied habitat of Scotland. In the UK we…
‘Colouring the landscape’ Ever noticed bright orange covered twigs and tree trunks in the landscape – especially as you pass farms or on busy road verges? Or bright…
‘Health indicators’ The Azalea lawn is a thing to behold in summer – bright swashes of bold colour and wonderful fragrant smells. But delving between the blooms you…
‘Extreme Survivors’ Lichens evolved at least 400 million years ago, they occur on every continent and are extremely diverse (there are thought to be approx. 30,000 species of…
‘Cycles of life’ Much of the rock in the alpine garden is alkaline-rich limestone. This supports a different community of lichens to those found in the rock garden…
‘Balance of nature’ Lichens are an incredibly important part of local biodiversity and are a key part of the UK’s contribution to global biodiversity. ‘Biodiversity’ is the biological…
The Team The RBGE lichen team carry out research in species discovery, led by Rebecca Yahr, and in environmental change and habitat conservation led by Chris Ellis. Drawing…
Lichens are extraordinary organisms. Easily overlooked, and often un-noticed by many people, lichens colonise trees and many other surfaces (walls, pavements, railings) in our urban areas. Did you…
Congratulations on completing your Lichens – Making the Invisible Visible Air Pollution Survey We hope you enjoyed the experience and that through exploring your local area in new…
Just one of the amazing things about lichens is… You don’t have to go to a tropical rainforest, the Caledonian Forest or the far west coast of Scotland…
Outdoor Air pollution Air pollution is a huge global environmental health issue, as recognised by the World Health Organisation. The air quality in Scotland is generally very good,…
The idea formed quite early on in my TCV Natural Talent Traineeship based at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to develop a specific tool kit to help people…
How a particularly grand piece of street furniture such as this one has not been captured on Google Maps I do not know… Almost invisible to the casual…
A trip to the borders ensued for this surveying site – with Peebles being my destination. After a beautiful but rather bumpy breezy trip on the front seat…
A train and bus ride see me heading out west to a air pollution monitoring station out on the edge of a small town. My bus stop is…
Surveying in Alloa as part of my project Lichens as Air Quality Indicators led me to a local police station. This is not my first encounter with the…
Under a glorious canopy of blossom I find the Stirling’s automatic air pollution monitoring station, (part of the Automatic Urban & Rural Network). A rather battered looking station,…
Situated next to the theatre, this is quite a pleasant spot to be surveying in. I’m at the heart of the Musselbrough hustle and bustle, yet within…
Some sites are very quick to survey. Unfortunately this isn’t a good thing. It’s quick only because there are literally NO LICHENS to survey. Trees surveyed in this…