Meet the “Mosses and Their Relatives” Workshop in Belfast

TAKEN FROM: http://waldo.villagesoup.com/

Belfast. If you look around, you’ll find all kinds of mosses and the moss family in the midcoast. The University of Maine Hutchinson Center is hosting a “Mosses Workshop” on October 21st. The four-hour workshop, Mosses and Their Relatives, will be offered on Friday, October 21 from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center, located at 80 Belmont Avenue in Belfast.

Mosses, liverworts and hornworts are all around us here in coastal Maine, yet they are not usually noticed or examined in detail. This workshop is designed to help beginners appreciate the features, identification, diversity, and ecology of mosses, liverworts and hornworts (collectively, Bryophytes).

The workshop will include time to collect some mosses in the field, and then work in the Hutchinson Center biology lab to identify samples using microscopes. We will discuss identification techniques, the anatomy, life cycle, and ecology of mosses, and major moss and liverwort groups. This workshop is designed for beginners and enthusiastic amateur naturalists. No prior knowledge about mosses or microscopes is necessary. Participants may wish to bring their digital camera.

The workshop will be taught by Dr. Alison Dibble. Dr. Dibble holds a Ph.D. in Plant Science and an M.S. in Botany from the University of Maine, as well as a B.A. in English Literature from Hartwick College. She has held many positions in the field of Botany, including Assistant Research Professor at the University of Maine, Seasonal contractor for the US Forest Service, and a Consulting Ecologist funded by the Northern States Research Council; and worked most recently as a guest instructor at the College of the Atlantic teaching Lichen Biology.

The cost of the workshop is $45, which includes lab supplies and a healthy snack. To register for the Mosses and Their Relatives Workshop, please call the Hutchinson Center at 338-8000, or visit the Hutchinson Center Science website at www.hutchinsoncenter.umaine.edu. To inquire about the availability of partial scholarships, please call the Science Program Office at (207) 338-8038.