BLS Zoom Groups
1. Lichen Chat and Improvement Groups - LCIGs
2 Lichens for Absolute Beginners - LABS (lower down this page) or see (New Page)
3a. Post-LABS groups (lower down this page) 3b. Lichens-Next Steps (lower down this page)
4. Microscope Groups (lower down this page) - Basics and Improvers
Also see: 5. "Learn the language", 6. Latest News, and 7. Some History (all lower down this page)
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Latest News: Judith Allinson writes: (last edited on 21 March 2025)
1. Lichen Next Steps - A new intermediate lichen group: This started in January 2025 and is being trialled running monthly on Tuesday evenings. Next meetings: starting on Tuesday 18 March and 1 April - Scroll down to Section 3b on this page
2. Please see the dates of future LCIG meetings at end of Section 1: just below the picture
3. The three LABs groups which started in January and the one LABs group starting in June are now full. You are welcome to put your name down for groups which will be starting in October 2025.
1. Regular LCIG groups: - open to all.
Lichen Chat and Improvement Groups (LCIG) are Zoom groups for people of all levels of lichen knowledge (but especially intermediate) to meet. There is a Tuesday evening group (7pm) and a Wednesday morning group (10am). The groups meet fortnightly in Winter and monthly in Summer. New people are welcome, whether you are a beginner or very experienced. We started in October 2020, eight months into the UK Covid Lockdown, We are now starting our fifth year. New people have been joining all the time. (See list of dates near the end)
If you are interested in joining in one of these groups, or have questions, or would like to have a private practice session learning how to use Zoom before the meeting, please contact zoom-improvement@britishlichensociety.org.uk
The sessions are run for members of the society but we very much welcome non-members in the hope that you might join someday soon.
As an example a 2 hour meeting might include:
1. Chat, or breakout groups for chat;
2. Three people give short 2-10 minute presentations, each followed by a period of 5 to 10 minutes discussion.
3. Five minute coffee break
4. Opportunity for announcements
5. People show pictures of lichens they would like to ask advice about.
6. Discussion.
Since Autumn 2022 we have replaced two of the "Three 2-10 minute presentations" by a guest speaker who will give an "introductory talk on their more specialist topic lasting 25 minutes" followed of course by questions and group participation.
The topics of some of the Past Talks are listed here
The meetings are a serendipity but it amazes me what interesting things we learn because such different people attend, including several BLS members from abroad. The computer screen is an excellent way of showing and examining details of lichens. I hope that every participant will deliver at least one presentation, (even if just a short 2 minute one about a lichen outside their back door or on their apple tree).
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We welcome offers and suggestions for speakers
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Meetings in 2025 (with some of the more major talks so far planned listed)
WINTER/ SPRING - fortnightly
14,15 Jan 2025 (15 Jan: talk by Becky Yahr on "Non-grey Parmelias")
28, 29 Jan (28 Jan: Talk by Isobel Clarke - How to Identify an Usnea)
11,12 Feb ( Talk by Janet Simkin on Filling in Spreadsheets and the BLS data)
25, 26 Feb (David Hill: Photobionts Part II)
11, 12 March
8, 9 April
SUMMER - monthly
6,7 May
3.4 June
1,2 July
29,30 July
26,27 Aug
AUTUMN: - fortnightly
23,24 Sept
7,8 Oct
21,22 Oct
4,5 Nov
18,19 Nov
2,3 Dec
16,17 Dec
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2. LABs groups - Lichens for Absolute Beginners
Are you an absolute beginner as far as lichens go? Or maybe you have been on an introductory lichen course somewhere but have forgotten parts of it. (See this page on the BLS website which lists the skills people might expect to develop at beginner and intermediate levels.) Or you might be attending the general Zoom Lichen Chat and Improvement Groups (LCIG, see above) but would value some more basic practice.
LABs are are series of Lichen Zoom Sessions - tutorials - led by a volunteer member of the society - who may be an intermediate but is keen to help people learn. By working in groups of 4 to 8 people there is opportunity to share pictures, to interpret them and to practice using technical terms.
All the participants gain by meeting each other. The course maybe between 8 and 16 sessions of 1-1.5hr each. Most groups meet fortnightly but some meet weekly.
If you are interested in attending such a LABs group as well as, or instead of, the LCIG group, please email
zoom-improvement@britishlichensociety.org.uk .
Six more LABS groups started this November 2024. Three more groups are starting in January 2025 and one in June 2025, but these are all fully booked. If you wish, put your name down for the next October 2025 when several new LABs groups will start.
Meanwhile you might like to consider working through the free BLS "Learn the language" online self guided course on this website, or attend the "to pay for" four sessions of the Field Studies Council Online course Discovering Lichens with Petra Vergunst
Read more about other Zoom groups organised by members of the BLS.
Beginners are very welcome at the regular LCIG groups.
3a. Post-LABs groups
As in 1 January 2025, there are five Post-LABs groups running. Three of the 2020-2022 LABs groups are still running as Post-LABS groups. (called "LNABS", "ILG", "ABLE" (Lichens not for Absolute Beginners, Interesting Lichens Group and ? respectively) and a fourth morphed into a local physical group with field meetings "LISS" - Lichens in South-east Scotland. This is because individuals from within the LABs groups were prepared to take on the organising of their own groups. Another group is being run by Mary Steer as a continuation of a 2024 LABs group and another by Fay Newbery as a continuation of her 2024 group.
3b. Lichen Next Steps - A new intermediate lichen group
A new lichen group is being trialled this 2025. The group is monthly(ish) . Next meetings: on Tuesday 18 March and 1 April. It's for anyone who's been looking at lichens for a while and is familiar with the basics of lichen ID (ie an experienced beginner or perhaps early intermediate), but wants to move on to the next level. It as an informal self-learning support forum where there will be a few more experienced lichenologists who can offer advice. It's not a tutorial but there might be the occasional talk. Participants will be expected to come prepared with a short presentation on something they've been working on. They might have got stuck and want some help or perhaps have successfully reached an ID - both will be interesting for others to see.
The Skills and Knowledge for Lichenologists page on the BLS website might be useful if you're unsure what level you are - or come along and find out.
If you'd like to join the group or have any questions email Caz on cazwalker3@gmail.com
4. Microscope Groups:
(Zoom microscopy peer support groups meet monthly online. Both groups are very informal. They are a place to share ideas, problems and successes with others. See ‘Events’ for the dates of these sessions.
The ‘Basics' group is for recent beginners who have already had some practical experience of lichen microscopy. You will have your own microscopes (dissecting low-power and a high-power microscope). The main focus is on sharing your progress towards cutting thinner sections and on interpreting what you can see.
The second group, ‘Improvers’, is for anyone who has been doing lichen microscopy for a while. The sessions have been very varied, with contributions from people at different points on the lichen microscopy journey. Presentations are short and varied, and generate interesting discussions about techniques, interpretation and identification.
If someone would like to run other sessions, maybe in a different format, that would be very welcome.
To join one of these groups, or more information, contact Di Napier (Warwickshire):
zoom-microscopy@britishlichensociety.org.uk
5. Learn the Language course
Beginners are also recommended to consider the "Learn the Language" short online course of the BLS. This can be carried out independently
or with the help of a volunteer BLS tutor by phone or by zoom.
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6. Some History of the Groups:
This section is historical. It show how the groups started, gives credit to people who ran some of the previous LABS groups and then lists a rather random selection of some of the topics covered in the LCIG groups to give you a flavour of the meetings. We hold between 16 and 26 Pairs of LCIG meetings a year.
We started in October 2020, eight months into the Covid Lockdown (which had started in March 2020 in UK) and new people have been joining ever since. We held 26 pairs of meeting 2020-2021, 20 pairs of meetings 2021-2022 and 18 pairs of meetings 2022-Sept 2023 and it will be 18 pairs of meetings Sep 2023-Sep 2024
The names of the people who ran the LABS groups 2020- 2024 are as follows:
2020 - Autumn Dec: 1. Mark Stephens & Sue Knight 2. Graham Pyatt, 3. Pete Martin,
2021 - Spring: .4. Bob Vaughan, 5. Geoffrey Cleave, 6. Mark Stevens & Sue Knight
2021 - Autumn: Nov: 7. Mark Stephens & Sue Knight; 8. Geoffrey Cleave
2022 - Spring: 9. Pete Martin; 10: Caz Walker
2022 - Autumn: October: 11. Mark Stephens & Sue Knight; 12. Sue Thomas
2023 - Spring 13. Bob Vaughan 14. Barbara Brown
2023 Autumn: October: 15: Mark Stephens & Sue Knight (Shropshire) 16. Fred Gibson (South West UK) 17. Sue Thomas (Scotland) 18. Barbara Brown
2024 Spring: January: 19: Anthony Speca 20: Fay Newbery
2024 Summer: June: 21: Fred Gibson
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2024 Autumn: Current Groups (All full): 22: Mark Stephens Mondays 7pm; 23: Sue Thomas Tuesday 6pm; 24: Pete Martin: Wed eve; 25: Fay Newbery (Wales): 26: Thurs eve; Sue and Raymond Griffiths (West Wales): Thursday 7pm. 27. Barbara Brown (Tue eve)
2025: January: 28: Wed Eve: Craig Postlethwaite; 29: Anthony Speca Thursday mornings; 30: Sylvia Davidson and Peter Bissett: Thursday evenings.
2025 Summer: 31: one group in June (now full - but you could ask to be on the reserve list)
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2025 Autumn: Spaces available.
Examples of some earlier talks:
Autumn 2022:
Caz Walker: Peltigeras, part 1 and Part 2;
Rebecca Yahr: Intro (and overall view) of Cladonias
Alison Cutts: Intro to Drawing Lichens - and tips
Peter Crittenden: Nitrogen Fixation and Lichens
Heleen Plaisir: Working at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens.
Andy Cross: An introduction to historic maps to help understand lichen habitats.
Spring 2023:-
Members contributions. (incl QGIS, Usnea apothecia)
David Hill: Lichen dyes: history, science and practice
Pete Martin: Four black wine gums on trees: L.e., F.l., A.p., C.n.
Paulina Cifuentes Uribe: Lichens found in retreating glaciers
Graham Pyatt: Three coastal Caloplacas
Autumn 2023:
David Hill: "Sex" in Lichens
John Skinner: Physcia species part 1.
Caz Walker on Peltigeras - of mine spoil (and other more common ones) near Alston
Neil Sanderson: Cladonias with red apothecia.
Raymond Griffiths: Tarn Lichen - Protoparmeliopsis achariana.
Maxine Putman and John Fisher: Lichens in Sweden
Spring & Summer 2024:
Dennis Waters: Introduction to Chromatography
Maria - Jose Chesa: The genus Cetratria
Craig Postlethwaite: Paisley Natural History Society Lichen Walks
Oliver Moore:- My work (with Plantlife) as "Saving Scottish Rainforests Advisor";
Sylvia Davidson: Llimonaea sorediata + a few other lichens of north facing church walls.
Di Napier: Borrowing Specimens from the BLS Herbarium
Richard Brinklow: The BLS Herbarium
John Skinner: The genus Physcia
Bryan Edwards - Lichen Conservation George Creiff: Frullania and Fungi
Nicholas Carter:Lichens and Heritage Conservation at Blenheim Palace
Many people have given talks on "Two lichens from outside my house or my back garden"
We value the contributions of beginners.