Turning over a New Leaf – How our personal botanical progress can mirror our strategies for life

By Tracey Younghusband, Senior Ecologist & Botanist at South East Ecology

I feel very privileged to have had a rural upbringing in a world without tech, not only did it teach me to be happy in my own company, but also to enjoy nature without any pressure or comparison to anyone else.

I’ve always had a good grounding in plants as my family were relatively self-sufficient with extensive fruit and veg growing, making preserves, jams and jellies - which was pretty standard for a rural family in the 80’s. My parents taught me most of my trees and a fair few flowers, but tree ID was also a component of primary school, (something I notice is tragically missed out of the curriculum now). Being embedded in a farming community and having various animals, we were always aware of poisonous plants, what to weed out and what to leave, plants that made the best itching powder and how to pick nettles without being stung.

So regardless of actually knowing a species name, when I started to formalise my learning, I still recognised a lot of species from my childhood. Again seeing familiar colours, shapes and form was more like a reunion with old friends and an excitement to finally know their names. Once I started teaching botany formally and was cultivating others to observe and be curious, I realised this curiosity and observation is really the key.

For me nature, but most especially botany has been a steady constant through life’s highs and lows. A constant companion that smooths over tricky times and calms the mind. It’s ‘me time’ and an escape from the demands of work or family life and a subject that just keeps unfolding into the interwoven complexities where everything is connected and plays its own important role.

I love all wildlife; I just find plants so accessible. They don’t flap and flutter, startle, or go quiet when you try to get closer, or dart past in the night. You can revisit them, see them emerge, wait for them to flower, watch them go to seed and die back – or persist through the winter. All of which are very helpful for identification purposes in this troubling time of unreliable seasons. You also don’t need a great deal of kit; an eye lens, a half decent book and you’re set.

Some feedback I have had from teaching botany is that people shy away from learning plants, especially the graminoids as they feel it is overwhelming. I do get this, so hopefully this article will help as a reframe to break any barriers.

As I am very visual, someone who notices patterns in everything and dyslexic, my main method for learning plants was to just remember them. I’m lucky that if something is of interest, it sticks, so this got me a fair way. However, as my botany advanced and I completed my first Botanical Society for Britain and Ireland’s (BSBI) Field Identification Skills Certificate (FISC)1 I realised to step things up, I needed to add some other strategies into the mix and break my own overwhelm barrier – that of botanical keys. The combination of furthering my skills and gathering a wealth of wonderful botany friends (human ones) along the way, began my private musings of how a botanical journey has many parallels to the life lessons we collect along the way.

Botany is one of the few scientific fields that works for a wide range of brain types. Some people learn best by handling specimens, others by working through keys, or by noticing patterns on long walks, some, by collecting various species within a habitat, family group or currently in flower. But whatever the background, the elements that will take your learning further will be passion, observation, curiosity and a thirst to know more.

The parallels I have drawn from my botanical and life journey to date – in no particular order are:

Hard work always pays off

AI apps, asking a botanist, or just glossing over plants you’re not sure of instead of questioning the ID. The former two are definitely both tools that are needed in your armament. But to always rely on these and not refer to books can mean that you don’t learn to work through the process of recognising features and retain them. For me, if I’ve put the work in and gone through a book, I will remember the plant. Of course we’re all pushed for time, so we can’t stop and study everything, but to not always do a double check can mean missing some additional species. Of course, ask for help, or use AI resources, but it doesn’t hurt to have a thought process prior.

Overwhelm

Just like when your life to do lists get too much, when plant ID gets too overwhelming, break it down into smaller chunks. Feeling graminoids may be a step too far? These could be broken down into learning the easier regular grasses, or the more reliable rush family first. Writing a target list of species you want to read up on can also help you see your progress.

Routine

Little and often, repetition, structure and consistency. Just like the survival tactics we needed to employ during Covid, a botanical routine is a sure-fire way to start clocking up the progress.

For me this is still going on the same walk regularly and noticing plants. This repetition is a spiral learning process of refreshing, reminding and then adding more to your knowledge. Just like starting a new exercise regime or lifestyle change, the smaller, but more consistent the change, the more likely it is to become a habit.

You do YOU!

Different brain types are something to be celebrated and working to your brain type will fast track your learning. I can work through keys and do (in a crisis)! But I am a more natural recogniser of patterns and a visual, practical learner. There are a range of ways to ID plants, from learning them all visually and you’re able to retain the knowledge, working through keys, learning family groups, or learning with a botanical mentor. Work with what is best for you for 80% of the time and dip out of your comfort zone for the rest.

Journalling

Whether electronic or handwritten, documenting what you have seen, some of the ID features, or keeping a journal of progress are all handy ways to anchor new species and knowledge. Labelling photos of species and saving them into a specific album may work for the more electronic minded.

Slow down

Almost impossible when you’re up against the clock completing fieldwork, but taking a moment to take in your surroundings pays dividends. As many of us do have to survey to a time frame, taking samples home to ID in our own time can be a compromise. But only IF the species is not thought to be rare AND there is a healthy population of plants. Otherwise, a good number of detailed photos is more than enough.

Make it funny

Sorbus aucuparia – the buds are brown and hairier, (the winter buds of rowan), hairy bum fruits (the seeds of the speedwells) and we all love a sticky willy! For me rhymes and humour stick, most long-standing botanists have a back catalogue of rhymes and smut for separating species!

Shifting the confidence mindset

Don’t worry about being corrected on your ID, we all have species corrected by peers and that is part of the learning process. It’s hard not to lose confidence, feel upset, or start comparing knowledge. Just treat any other opinions on a species as data – and useful data. Equally pass on your corrections to others mindfully so they retain the ID features. Equally botanical keys are a learning process, start with easier keys such as Field Studies Council vegetative books and work on species you know. If it keys out incorrectly, that’s a great learning opportunity to notice why.

Get social

Joining local botanical groups, the BSBI or forming your own small community of folks keen to expand their knowledge will help inspire you to get out, observe how others learn, share knowledge, ideas and resources.

The simple things in life are free

Striping life back to a more simplistic approach with minimal expectations is a definite way of finding contentment in the smaller things. I love the understated plants that hide in swards, or sedges that are so prehistoric they make up their own rules. The joy of finding a species that you’ve only seen in books previously, or just seeing a new species pop up on your regular walks is so satisfying. Then expanding that curiosity to why and how it has suddenly appeared helps to unlock the complexities of habitats.

Observing the landscape

Accurate identification and methodical study are all vital in getting a habitat assessed correctly. Just as objective self-reflection of our own mental landscape and behaviour ensures more meaningful relationships with our loved ones, careful and thorough observation of the physical landscape results in the best outcomes for the habitat to be enhanced.

The best thing about botany is it is everywhere, it doesn’t matter if you reside in a town or the countryside. Urban botany guides are now available and make botany far more accessible. The key really is to tap back into that pure childlike curiosity and desire to be outdoors. I never grew up and I think tapping into that childlike wonder for any wildlife discipline creates the perfect balance of collating information and getting a sense of fulfilment.

South East Ecology runs formal, industry standard courses on habitat assessment and botany and can run tailored courses too.

Find out what’s available at www.southeastecology.co.uk/courses

1 FISC’s are a guide for botanical competency.

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