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Dear BLS Members and Interested Lovers of Lichens,
It is time to share with you arrangements for this year's AGM, during which verbal reports from all the officers will be presented. Details of the meeting are below and attachments regarding finances are included. All members and non members are welcome to join; only members are allowed to vote.
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Due to current circumstances, mainly regarding uncertainty about large groups meeting, we will be unable to organise a hybrid meeting following our AGM as we had planned. Kew’s current guidance is not to host large meetings, and I know that many people are wary of large gatherings. The officers and trustees met last night (10 January), and we decided that the best course of action will be to go ahead with the formal AGM business meeting on Saturday 29 January at 10.30AM as planned, as an online Zoom meeting, but to postpone the programme of talks until the Spring, when there seems a more viable option of people meeting in person again.
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On Thursday 9th December, at 10.06 am on the BBC World Service, an edition of The Forum will discussing algae and their evolution, their importance for life on earth and their potential harmful effects. Among those taking part will be BLS member Dr Gothamie Weerakoon, senior curator of lichens and slime moulds at the Natural History Museum. The programme will also be available as a podcast.
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Two new sets of resources are now available on the website.
Species Descriptions of UK lichens written in straight-forward language.
The lichen Species Descriptions are available as downloadable pdf files for use offline on computer, tablet or phone as well as while as online. Their straight-forward language makes them accessible to all. The first descriptions released are a bit of a mixture, but we hope to concentrate on the most common species over the next few months.
Lichenicolous fungi information including descriptions of some fungi occurring in the UK.
The Lichenicolous Fungi page aims to be a repository for:
- Keys to lichenicolous fungi on specific hosts.
- Guides to lichenicolous fungi on some widespread hosts.
- Descriptions of individual lichenicolous fungi.
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The International Association of Lichenology 9 meeting is all online this summer - from August 1st to 6th 2021 - meaning many people from around the world will be able to attend. Registration fees do apply for all attendees, and the British Lichen Society and the IAL are generously sponsoring a number of awards to help defray these costs for those who wish to apply. You will need to be a member of either or both of the societies to be awarded a grant.
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A new set of distribution maps for Britain and Ireland was produced at the end of November 2020 and these are now on the BLS website. They can be accessed from the Species and Maps page in the Resources section. Please let us know of any errors or omissions - email records@britishlichensociety.org.uk.
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Work on revising the Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland is going well and the first section of the new work, Revisions of British and Irish Lichens, is now available on the BLS website.