Citizen science projects for this year’s Campout
Lobaria pulmonaria, Tree Lungwort
What’s looks like a plant, grows where plants grow but isn’t a plant…or an animal?
A lichen!
A lichen is in fact not a plant or animal but an organism made up of an algae and a fungi! These humble creatures are crucial to the health of ecosystems worldwide, acting as bio-indicators for air quality, beginning soil formation in bare landscapes and playing a part in nitrogen fixing for plants.
This year’s t-shirt and hoody design is inspired by a very special species of lichen that is found only in ancient woodlands making them an indicator of old growth forests. Lobaria pulmonaria, commonly called Tree Lungwort after it’s resemblance to that of lungs, funnily enough!
Head over to our online shop to get your t-shirt or hoody and contribute to our fundraising goal this year!
On a visit to Friends of Glennon, the BCC’s chosen charity for this years campout our team found the ancient Celtic forest dripping in lichens, mosses and fungi. Once completely forested, there remains only 4% of native woodland in Scotland of which 1% is ancient, defined as existing or planted before 1750.
Getting to experience these places is a bit like taking a step back in time or visiting jurassic park (without the dinosaurs!). We still have so much to learn from the complex ecosystems so how do we help protect these places? Well, we believe we can start small and collect our observations when in the trees this campout event!
Citizen Science Projects
iNaturalist
This year we are asking our campers to join in our citizen science projects and contribute to a global survey of plant, moss, lichen and fungi species seen over our campout weekend. Anyone can take part, you do not need to be a scientist to join in and it can be carried out whether you are a climber or ground camper.
Click the button below to download iNaturalist, create an account and search for Big Canopy Campout under projects. Here you can take photos and upload them for others to help identify! We are open to all things that make you curious over the weekend and will take the information to build a long term data set of observations from forests around the world.
The Forest beyond the Trees
Plants support our very existence. These mighty powerful beings fill out landscapes with a variety of textures, shapes, and colors as they use light, water, and nutrients to build their beauty and provide us with the air we breathe.
Within forests, it is common to see plants growing on top of other plants. By taking pictures, sharing them, and answer a couple of questions, Big Canopy CampOut participants may help forest ecologists to see the forest beyond the trees and account for their relevance in water, carbon, and nutrient forest dynamics.
Monica B. Berdugo, a scientist interested in this topic, will combine the body of pictures and answers to estimate the abundance of plants living on the climbed canopy trees.
Take part by filling in the form below and submitting it directly to Monica!
For more information head over to our Citizen Science page here