Bethnal Green Nature Reserve

Experimental Wetland Ecology Survey: Herbarium Workshop with Mila

Herbaria are collections of dried plants that can be stored, catalogued and arranged by family, genus and species, capturing the community of a time and place.

As part of the ongoing ecology survey at the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, we will begin a Herbarium of botanical life growing onsite, starting in the new wetland. This will become an important reference in the coming years, decades and centuries as the community shifts, and as plants respond to a changing climate.

Saturday 24th September
2:00pm - 5:00pm
x8 free tickets available here: www.eventbrite.com

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We invite you for an afternoon of learning about herbaria, identifying common wetland plants, and exploring their relationships to the wider ecosystem. We will learn how to mindfully select specimens, use presses as a preservation technique, and record information to an archival standard. We will also experiment with preserving other formats, including our observations, memories, relationships, and folklore. All will be welcome to continue these practices and grow the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve Herbarium over the years.

The workshop will be led by Mila, a herbalist focusing on care within and between human and plant communities. Their love for water has led them to dip their feet in the Ecology Pond to explore this local ecosystem.

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From Summer 2022 to Spring 2023, Edward Simpson & Tyra Enchill are developing a series of wetland ecology surveys in collaboration with friends and residents of the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve (both human and beyond). These surveys will investigate the complex array of lifeforms and relationships that are emerging in the new wetland.

The programme is an invitation to experiment with and expand our ideas of what an ecology survey can be. By remembering ourselves as parts of this ecosystem, we hope to facilitate sustainable connections with the wetland and its inhabitants, nurture our community’s observation and surveying skills, and create a meaningful archive which reflects the social and ecological significance of this space.

Supported by the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve Trust + National Lottery Community Fund.

Herbaria are collections of dried plants that can be stored, catalogued and arranged by family, genus and species, capturing the community of a time and place.

As part of the ongoing ecology survey at the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, we will begin a Herbarium of botanical life growing onsite, starting in the new wetland. This will become an important reference in the coming years, decades and centuries as the community shifts, and as plants respond to a changing climate.

Saturday 24th September 2:00pm - 5:00pm x8 free tickets available here: www.eventbrite.com

.

We invite you for an afternoon of learning about herbaria, identifying common wetland plants, and exploring their relationships to the wider ecosystem. We will learn how to mindfully select specimens, use presses as a preservation technique, and record information to an archival standard. We will also experiment with preserving other formats, including our observations, memories, relationships, and folklore. All will be welcome to continue these practices and grow the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve Herbarium over the years.

The workshop will be led by Mila, a herbalist focusing on care within and between human and plant communities. Their love for water has led them to dip their feet in the Ecology Pond to explore this local ecosystem.

-

From Summer 2022 to Spring 2023, Edward Simpson & Tyra Enchill are developing a series of wetland ecology surveys in collaboration with friends and residents of the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve (both human and beyond). These surveys will investigate the complex array of lifeforms and relationships that are emerging in the new wetland.

The programme is an invitation to experiment with and expand our ideas of what an ecology survey can be. By remembering ourselves as parts of this ecosystem, we hope to facilitate sustainable connections with the wetland and its inhabitants, nurture our community’s observation and surveying skills, and create a meaningful archive which reflects the social and ecological significance of this space.

Supported by the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve Trust + National Lottery Community Fund.