Learning Activities: Getting Started

Ten practical exercises to undertake to implement the strategies suggested in this topic

1. Conduct a "Test Species" Comparison

Visit a local park and find a plant or animal you already recognise. Look up its entry in your field guide and compare the text and images to your real-world observation to see if the guide's description matches your understanding.

2. Practice the "View-Only" Observation Method

Use a small, clear plastic pot with a magnifying lid to briefly hold a beetle or spider. Practice observing the creature for a few minutes before releasing it exactly where you found it to ensure its safety.

3. Master the Hand Lens Technique

Practice using a 10x magnification lens by holding it right up to your eye and bringing a specimen (like a flower stem or insect wing) toward the lens until it snaps into focus. This helps you see "micro-features" like tiny hairs or vein patterns.

4. Create a Field Sketch in the Rain

Take a 2B pencil and a notebook outdoors—even in damp weather or "sea mist"—and practice sketching a "map" of a specimen, such as the spot patterns on a ladybird. This helps you record facts clearly without relying on a potentially blurry photo.

5. Identify Garden "Weeds"

Use your field guide to identify common plants in your own garden or local pavement. This is a low-pressure way to learn botanical terms and practice using the "keys" or step-by-step logic found in many guides.

6. Perform a "Triple-Angle" Digital Verification

The next time you use an AI tool like Google Lens, take three different photos of the same specimen from different angles. If the tool suggests the same species for all three, your confidence in the identification can be much higher.

7. Join an Online "Digital Workbench"

Create an account on iSpot to receive feedback from experts on your sightings. Read the comments they leave to learn "why" a specific feature—like a square stem—identifies a certain plant family.

8. Map Your Neighbours' Finds

Log into iNaturalist and search for "Projects" in your specific area, such as the Sid Valley. This allows you to see what species are currently in season or being found nearby, helping you know what to look for on your next walk.

9. Learn the "Language of Flowers"

Find a wildflower and, without picking it, try to identify its parts: the petals, sepals, stamens, and pistil. Note whether the leaves are arranged in an alternate, opposite, or whorl pattern on the stem.

10. Visit an "Ancient" Habitat

Go to a location like Bluebell Wood on Salcombe Hill to practice identifying "indicator species". Specifically, look for the difference between the native English Bluebell (which has a one-sided "nod") and the non-native Spanish Bluebell.