Woodland Pioneers: Moss & Lichen Workshop and Hike

Join Alex Graeff, botanist for the National Ecological Observatory Network and moss and lichen enthusiast, for a moss and lichen identification workshop. The session will start with a classroom presentation to cover the basics in terminology and morphological features needed for lichen and moss identification. Then we will head outside to the forests and bog at NLDC where we will apply our newly learned identification techniques to the mosses and lichens we encounter, while discussing tidbits of north woods ecology. We will focus on the basics of identification using the most obvious morphological features, and will emphasize finding and learning the most conspicuous members of our moss and lichen communities. The hike will be about 1.5 miles, but with plenty of time stopped to discuss the “critters” we encounter.

Alex is a botanist by profession, and is most well-versed in vascular flora of the northern Great Lakes region. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northern Michigan University, where he studied biology and plant community ecology. After picking up an interest in plant identification at a Michigan Botanical Club trip in 2012, he spent much of the next decade focused on exploring and learning our native flora.  As a means to continue learning about the north woods and to stay occupied during long winters, he has spent considerable time at his microscopes poring over lichen and moss guides and specimens. Though he considers himself more of an enthusiast than an expert, he is excited to teach about these less-conspicuous and under-appreciated members of our forest communities.  

Registration required by 7/27.  Saturday, 1 – 3:30 PM.  $25/Non-Member and $20/Member.  Participants will meet in the Forest Room in Discovery Hall at the Discovery Center