In light of Covid-19, the BSBI Trustees have recently decided to cancel all remaining BSBI field meetings for 2020. We are really sorry about this but our members’ safety is most important. Leaders of BSBI local groups should note that they cannot run events under the BSBI name, and we can't advertise or offer support or insurance for those local group events.
Hopefully we'll be able to resume field meetings and events as usual in 2021 (assuming government guidance allows). In the meantime, if you choose to go out botanising individually or with a few others, we urge you to ensure you follow all current government guidance around social distancing and other Covid-19 prevention measures, as well as more general safe practices for field work. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with our Head of Ops.
Latest News
*NEW* Everyone really likes meeting old friends and making new ones at the Scottish Botanists' Conference. Sadly we don't think we can hold a physical conference safely this year and have opted for an entirely virtual alternative.
The good news is that we will have the usual program of talks, workshops and exhibits spread over the weekend of Saturday 31st October and Sunday 1st November - all online and recorded so you can view them later (or again).
Keep an eye on the conference page for further details as they become available.
*NEW* Check out the Botanical Society of Scotland's new Botany in Scotland blog - interesting and regularly updated articles!
Scottish Officer
Jim McIntosh
Address: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR
Email: jim.mcintosh@bsbi.org
Phone: 0131 248 2894
Scottish Newsletter
The 2020 Scottish Newsletter is out now. Click on the link to view or download. All issues since 1979 are available on the new Scottish Newsletter page.
2019 VC Annual Reports
Every year we ask Recorders to summarise the most interesting and exciting news from their Vice-counties in less than 250 words. Here are their 2019 Annual Reports. Take a look - it is a great read! Previous Annual Reports can be seen at the bottom of this page.
Scottish Botanists' Conference 2019
The 2019 Scottish Botanists' Conference took place on Saturday 2nd November at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. A record attendance of 200 enjoyed a great day of botanical talks, workshops, exhibits, posters and meeting people. Click Scottish Botanists' Conference to see the programme, presentations, abstracts and a virtual exhibition.
BSBI beginners' Sedges and Grasses workshops in 2020
Sadly, we have had to cancel this year's programme of workshops for beginners. Hopefully we can reschedule them in 2021. Meantime you might like to view our new Introduction to Sedge Id and Introduction to Grass Id webinars.
The State of Nature report 2019 has been published. Find out more here or download the SoN summary for Scotland.
BSBI Plant identification workshop for beginners
We've also had to cancel the Identifying Wildflower Families workshop planned for 31st May at Holyrood in Edinburgh.
The workshop was the latest in the popular series we have been running for over six years that aims to help beginners to identify plant families and species.
Scottish Local Groups
Get in touch with your local group to find out about local botanical field meetings:
- Dumfriesshire run by Chris Miles
- Kirkcudbrightshire - David Hawker
- Lanarkshire - Michael Philip
- East Lothian - Marion Moir
- West Lothian - Jay Mackinnon
- Fife - Sandy Edwards
- Perthshire - Perthshire Society of Natural Sciences
- Moray - Ian Green
- Highlands - Inverness Botany Group
Natural History Societies in Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Paisley, Berwick and Lochaber also arrange programmes that include some botany.
New Year Plant Hunt 2020
To find out which plants were spotted in bloom in Scotland during the 2020 New Year Plant Hunt, check out the map on the Results page and the New Year Plant Hunt Twitter feed here. Many thanks to all Scottish recorders who took part!
Introduction to Recording Workshop
- How to use the BSBI Database
- How to find, prepare and complete recording cards
- Advice on Buying and Using GPSs
You might also like to view our new Recording for Beginners webinar.