Announcing another opportunity to learn about lichens with Aspen Ecology! Our ‘Lichens for beginners’ online course is starting in January 2026. Join us for this exciting expedition into a hidden world, and unlock one of nature’s greatest secrets!
This beginner course is designed for anyone with a newfound interest in lichens. We’ll ‘begin from the beginning’, so it will be perfect whether you have little experience of lichens, or even none. The course will help you to:
- Appreciate the curious beauty and ecological importance of lichens
- Identify some common lichens in your local area
- Use lichen keys, field guides and other resources
- Examine lichens in close-up using a hand-lens
- Describe lichens using proper terminology
- Photograph and appropriately collect lichens for further study
- Distinguish between lichens using chemical and ultraviolet tests
- Understand the mysteries of the lichen symbiosis
- Connect with other people who are also interested in lichens
Previous lichen courses that we’ve taught have received glowing feedback!
Anthony is a very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and eloquent tutor. I had limited experience of studying lichens before I started this course, but Anthony explained things clearly and covered a lot of ground.
Each lesson was prepared with careful planning and attention to detail. The content was explored very well, and the practical demonstrations were excellent.
I wanted to say thank you for the course, I have learned so much, and hope to continue learning about lichens. You do this REALLY well!
All you need to start the course is an internet connection and your own enthusiasm! We’ll discuss other resources for studying lichens as the course progresses.
Some practical matters:
- Ten online sessions covering all the lichen basics
- Thursday mornings from 10.00 to 12.00 GMT (including a brief tea-break)
- Proposed start date of 15 January 2026
- Fortnightly meetings to allow time for practical consolidation between sessions
- Break during the Easter holidays (no tutorial on 9 April 2026)
- Proposed end date of 4 June 2026
After the course, you’ll be invited to join the ‘Aspen Ecology alumni’ group to stay in touch and learn more about lichens together. And you’ll also be ready to go onto other Aspen Ecology lichen courses, such as our introduction to lichen microscopy.
The course fee is 150.00 GBP per participant, assuming a minimum of six participants. The fee includes all ten sessions, plus continued online access to presentations and resources for three months after the course ends. If you’re interested in taking advantage of this opportunity, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
