Interest area: Environment

This one-day workshop will give an introduction to identifying and recording bees and will focus on the common and distinctive species found in the North-West.

The day will start with an introductory presentation followed by an identification session looking at specimens of common bee species. After lunch we will make our way to the meadows in front of and behind World Museum to search for bees and to learn how to use a net, insect pot and hand lens to get a closer look and identify them in the field.

Please note, this workshop will be aimed at those new to identifying bees or those with little experience.

Our tutors: Chloe Aldridge has been recording bees and wasps for about 5 years in Cheshire, including with Cheshire Bee Group, and through previous work as Monitoring Officer for Cheshire Local Environmental Records Centre. Leanna Dixon is the Assistant Entomologist on the Tanyptera Project at World Museum. She specialises in insect identification and recording with an emphasis on bees and wasps. Chloe and Leanna founded the Cheshire Bee Group in 2019.

The Liverpool Botanical Trust and LJMU Research Institute for Literature and Cultural History are delighted to announce a symposium focusing on the cultural and scientific history of orchid collections. Liverpool has an important place in the ‘Orchidelerium’ or orchid mania which swept Victorian Britain.

The one-day event will be held on Saturday 16th March 2024, 10am-4pm at Croxteth Hall, Liverpool.

It will feature keynote talks by orchid expert, author and lecturer, Philip Seaton (Secretary of the Orchid Specialist Group) with shorter papers on the history of orchids in the Liverpool Botanic Gardens, orchids in Victorian England, and creative work. There will also be an opportunity to see five new ‘Liverpool Orchids’.

The cost of the event is £15 per person and will include refreshments and lunch.

To book, the Eventbrite link is:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/orchid-fever-propagating-and-hybridizing-orchids-over-the-last-200-years-tickets-802764218387?aff=oddtdtcreator

Update: Save The Liverpool Botanical Collection.

As a direct response to your show of support, the team have now set up The Liverpool Botanical Trust with five founding Trustees: Stephen Lyus, Stephen Guy, Peter Ellison, Alan Smith and Jayne Moore.

The Trustees, together with your support, aim to develop a plan to not only save the collection for the future but will be considering how to extend and restore the collection to its former glory.

Now that they have a bank account, they are able to ask for donations directly, initially to be used to fund our web presence and allow us to rejoin the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, as they further develop plans to create a more secure space for the collections, preserving them for the future, and they want to create a series of events to invite you to as a supporter.

Their website can be found at https://liverpoolbotanicaltrust.org.uk/. You will understand that it is in the process of development, so content will be added as time goes by and they build capacity.

Whatever money is surplus to these early needs will help toward the £70,000 target that they have set to be able to achieve for the next stage of restoration, bringing the collection within Croxteth Hall Gardens back to its former glory and securing it for future generations.

These collections are so valuable to society, as Raoul Curtis-Machin, Director of Horticulture and Visitor Experience at Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, described to us in April, this is why Botanic Gardens matter:

• Conservation horticulture
• Species rescue
• Pest threat research
• Human pest problems
• Climate change adaptation

The Liverpool Botanical Collection is filled with such rare and endangered plants, they really need to preserve and protect this wonderful legacy for our City and our planet.

If you would like to help now, please donate, by sending it direct to their bank account:

Account Name: Liverpool Botanical Trust
Sort code: 30-99-50
Account: 17139363

Or by cheque to:

Liverpool Botanical Trust
c/o Lowlands Community Centre

13 Haymans Green

West Derby

Liverpool

L12 7JG

In this behind the scenes immersive experience you will get the chance to feed their animals and learn how the team look after the equipment and water chemistry in their aquarium.

This experience is only available to participants aged 8 years and older.

The experience can be booked for a group of up to two people or up to four people with a maximum of two under 18 year olds in a group of either size.

If two under 18 year olds are attending the two person package, an adult must accompany them as a free spectator/chaperone.