Tag: Lichen Air Quality Survey

The Wee World of Lichens Trail: 3 Azalea Lawn

‘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…

What exactly is a lichen?

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…

Let us know how it went! Feedback on Lichens Air Pollution Survey

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…

#myurbanlichen

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…

Lichens & Air Pollution

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,…

Lichens – Making the Invisible Visible – An Air Pollution Survey

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…

Street furniture

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…

Happy Hypocenomyce & Dog lichens

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…

Out in the sticks

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…

On the Bobby’s watch

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…

With the cherry blossom comes the spring

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,…

Surveying by the sea

  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…

Air pollution & nutrient enrichment

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…

Cars, lorries, planes, buses and lichen surveying

  With the help of the brilliant Lothian Buses journey planner I travel by bus today. Surely it’s one of the hottest days of the year so far. …

Pollution and Pests?

Regularly hitting moderate levels for pollution, as monitored and recorded by the 91 Air Quality Monitoring Stations that are situated across Edinburgh and the central belt of Scotland,…

Once is not always enough

Some sites you just have to visit twice.  Unexpected hail and snow blizzards when surveying are just part of the course, but add strong winds to that, and…

Exterminate, exterminate! – a portal into another world

I’m heading to a new part of town to find my next air quality monitoring station and to spice up the journey I take a route suggested by…

Air quality monitoring – a view from the inside

Today as part of my survey on lichens as indicators of air quality we head out of the city to the foot of the Pentlands, well almost. Bush…

The journey begins

The journey begins.  8am.  I’ve just cycled north to south through the bustling traffic heavy centre of Edinburgh.  I arrive, lock up my bike, pull out a clip…