The Institute is at the Tulse Hill Station end of Norwood Road, Tfl Zone 3, 5 mins. walk from the station. Trains: Southern and Thameslink - Frequent services to Tulse Hill from London Bridge, Wimbledon and Sutton. Buses: 68, 196, 322 & 468 pass the Institute; 2, P13, 201, 415 & 432 stop at Tulse Hill. Bicycles: Bike racks in front drive.

How to become a member: You can join the South London Botanical Institute via the website www.slbi.org.uk or by contacting us. Membership of £18 p.a. includes a discount on classes, workshops and talks, up to 10 free packets of seeds from our annual Seed List, 2 copies of our seasonal Gazette, special members’ events and posted programmes.

Sat 5 Bat Night at the SLBI 8.45 pm Iain Boulton £10 Booking essential Sat 12th West Norwood Cemetery Walk 11.00 - 1.00 pm Galls & the Plants They Grow On. A joint event with West Norwood Cemetery. Tommy Root £10 Booking essential Sat 19 Open House 1.00- 5.00 pm with Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society 150th Anniversary Display of Specimens together with all of our historic herbarium and library collections. Sun 20 Identifying Wild Plants 6: Duckweed and Pondweed Families Please see session 1-6 for all details. Mark Spencer £50/£250 for all 6 Booking essential Wed 23 Herbal Heritage - Uses of our native plants. 2.00 pm St Leonard’s Churchyard, Streatham SW16 1HS Meet at entrance to church. Part of Lambeth Heritage Festival. COMING UP: Oct - Aromatherapy for Stress Relief Julie Bowles MIFPA Aromatherapist, Neal’s Yard Nov 22 - Winter Twig Identification John Poland Allan Octavian Hume! Father & Founder of the Indian National Congress A talk - Roy Vickery

*Please note these events are free thanks to funding from the City Bridge Trust for our Botany on Your Plate project - donations always welcome

Registered

Charity No:

214251

SPRING & SUMMER

PROGRAMME April

to September

2020 323 Norwood Road

London SE24 9AQ www.slbi.org.uk 020 8674 5787

info@slbi.org.uk

South London Botanical Institute

@SLBotanicalInst SouthLondonBotanical Institute Slbi_323

The Institute is open for weekend events and on Thursdays from 10 am - 4 pm when the Herbarium and Library can be used, the garden visited and volunteers are available to answer queries. For visits at other times please contact us (office open Monday - Thursday). We also host school visits on Tuesdays &Wednesdays in term time. Please see website and contact us here for further details. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * If possible please check website: www.slbi.org.uk for alterations/additions April Tues 2 Chocolate - Talk and Tastings* 7.00 pm That dark, pleasantly bitter, chemically complex substance bears little resemblance to the pulp surrounding the seeds of the cocoa plant. Explore the history, botany and processes involved in its transformation to become either the food of the masses or of the Gods, and taste the results! Vilma Bharatan, Natural History Museum £10 refundable deposit Sun 5 Introduction to Plant Morphology 10.00 am - 2.00 pm Confused by botanical terms to identify plants using keys? Ligule, phyllary or stipule? Can’t find them on your specimen? Using hand lenses Mark will guide you through the basic elements of flowering plant anatomy and explain its tortuous language. Mark Spencer £40 members/£45 non-members Booking essential Weds 8 Easter Holiday Activities for Children aged 4+ and carers Grow your Own Pasta Sauce* 2.00 - 4.00 pm Sow tomato, sweet peppers, basil, onions and chilli if you like it spicy! Sarah Webley £6 per child refundable deposit Booking essential Weds 15 Hume Centenary Education Fund Lecture 7.00 pm The Flora of the Changing Arctic Arctic biomes are warming faster than the global average, with knock-on biological and environmental consequences and the flora of the region facing a dramatic shift as biodiversity in the region alters by temperature and timing. The implications will be felt across the world. No booking necessary Joe Boyle, Shrub Ecology Lab, Edinburgh University Members free/£5 non-members Sun 19 - 7 Jun ‘Propagate’ - An exhibition of Sculpture Inspired by botanical microscopy, soil, rock and plants in space. This exhibition runs throughout our Spring events and open days. See website for further details. Deborah Gardner and Jane Millar

AUGUST Summer Holiday Activity for Children 4+ and their carers Pollination Activity in partnership with Eco Attractions Group. More information to follow. Sat 1 Lichen Walk - Nunhead Cemetery 10.00 -1.00 pm A gentle introduction to the world of London's lichens. Looking at both the basic structure and keys to identification, the effects of pollution and their role in ecosystems. Joe Beale, ACIEEM £15 Booking essential Sun 2 Identifying Wild Plants 5: Goosefoot, Dock and Willow 10.00 - 4.00 pm Please see session 1-6 for all details. Mark Spencer £50/£250 for all 6 Booking essential Sun 16 'Lumps, bumps and wiggles: 2.00 pm An introduction to plant-galls and leafmines'. Roy Vickery, SLBI Tooting Common - Meet at café on the Common, off Bedford Hill, SW16 1RT. No booking necessary A joint event with Friends of Tooting Common Donations welcome Thurs 20 Open Evening 6.00 - 8.00 pm Come and enjoy our beautiful garden with a glass of wine on a summer evening with your friends. All welcome Donations welcome No booking necessary Fri 21 - Mon 24 Juniper Hall Field Studies Centre, Dorking A trip with June to the local area near to Box Hill, see website for further details. Full board included £325 members/£375 non-members Booking essential Dr June Chatfield OBE Sun 30 Allotment Wild Plants Survey - Roehampton 11.00 am Pleasance Allotments, Roehampton. Meet at the site entrance, next to 18 The Pleasance (TQ226751,nearest station Barnes, NR W'loo). No booking necessary Roy Vickery Joint with the London Natural History Society. Donations welcome SEPTEMBER Sat 5 Block Printing - Cards and Lavender Bags 1.30 - 4.00 pm Artist Julie will be teaching you to make your own beautiful art with this fascinating and many faceted technique. All material provided Julie Sullock £35 members/£40 non-members Booking essential

JULY Sat 4 West Norwood Cemetery Walk 1.30 - 3.30 pm Natural History and Molluscs June is a renowned botanist and will take you on a fascinating tour of things to find, what they are, and explain their interest. A joint event with West Norwood Cemetery. Dr June Chatfield OBE, £10 Booking essential Sun 5 Identifying Wild Plants 4: Borage, Daisy and Carnation 10.00 - 4.00 pm Please see session 1-6 for all details. Mark Spencer £50/£250 for all 6 Booking essential Sat 11 Better food, better cities, better life* 10.30 –12.30 pm Growing food in containers has so many benefits - delicious healthy cheaper food, reducing and recycling food waste, becoming more independent from the industrial food system, supporting small scale seed producers, and using growing to connect more with our neighbours and local community Mark Ridsdill Smith, Vertical Veg £10 refundable deposit Booking essential Sat 11 How to Create a Kitchen Herb Garden in Containers 2.30– 4.30 pm Tips, techniques and tastings including easy to grow unusual and exotic herbs, supermarket herbs, and microgreens as well as both cooking ideas and cuttings advice. Mark Ridsdill Smith, Vertical Veg £30 Booking essential Tues 14 Gilbert White as a Botanist 7.00 pm Celebrating the tercentenary of the birth of Gilbert White author of The Natural History of Selborne. Dr June Chatfield OBE Members free/Non-members £5 No booking necessary Thurs 23 Open Evening 6.00 - 8.00 pm Come and enjoy our beautiful garden with a glass of wine on a summer evening with your friends. All welcome Donations appreciated Tues 28 - Thurs 30 Urban Botany for Aspiring Plant Scientists A summer school for school leavers going forward into biology, botany, horticulture or related subjects. 3 days of exploration into plant science led by some of the country’s most experienced tutors. £200 Bursaries available Dr Jonathan Mitchley & Mark Spencer

APRIL Sun 19 National Gardens Scheme Open Gardens 2.00 - 5.00 pm Enjoy our garden and house with delicious teas and cakes and chat to our gardeners. ‘Propogate’ exhibition runs alongside, see previous item. NGS tickets available on door Garden Café Sun 26 How to use Plant Identification Keys 10.00 - 2.00 pm Getting the most out of botanising needs the essential tool of knowing how to use keys. Mark will take the fear out of ‘keying out’, introduce you to their strengths and weaknesses, as well as guidance on how to use hand lenses. Mark Spencer £40 members/£45 non-members Booking essential Mon 27 West Norwood Cemetery Walk 11.00 - 1.00 pm City Nature Challenge Roy will be both identifying plants and sharing his knowledge in this fascinating cemetery. Caroline will record on the inaturalist software. All levels welcome. A joint event with West Norwood Cemetery. Booking essential Caroline Pankhurst & Roy Vickery, SLBI Free as part of CNC Thursdays 30 April - 9 July Drawing and Painting from Nature 6.30 - 8.30 pm A 10 week Thursday course run by Imperial College London Both practical; learning about the technical and creative skills associated with drawing and painting from natural objects, and educational; discovering some of the history behind this form of artwork. Jo Roberts Please book via: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/evening-classes/

Tues 28 Cannabidiol: A Talk 7.00 pm

Evidence for its medical uses and current controversies As a part of modern-day medicine, the list of diseases that cannabinoids are suggested as a treatment is constantly expanding. Chandni will outline the current evidence based usage and integrate the current public and governmental perspectives. Members free/£5 non-members No booking necessary Chandni Hindocha, Division of Psychiatry, University College London. MAY Sat 2 West Norwood Cemetery Walk - Foraging 11.00 - 1.00 pm Author and herbalist Vicky introduces you to common, local, seasonal plants and helps you discover their edible and medical properties. A joint event with West Norwood Cemetery. Vicky Chown, Handmade Apothecary £10 Booking essential

MAY Sun 3 Identifying Wild Plants 1 - Cabbage, Carrot and Rose 10.00 - 4.00 pm One of six sessions, focusing on 3-4 common wild plant families. Introducing you to each family and their main vegetative and floral characteristics. Practising identification skills, using hand lenses and keys, and examining the plants in the field. Please see website for information on the reference book you should bring. Mark Spencer £50/£250 for all 6 Booking essential Thurs 7 & 14 Dulwich Artists Open House Exhibition 10.00 - 4.00 pm Sat16/Sun17: 11.00 - 6.00 pm Paintings, prints and crafts from local artists to enjoy and buy. Thurs 7 Bat Night in Brockwell Park 8.45 pm Iain Boulton, £10 Booking essential Sat 16 Annual Plant Sale 11.00 - 1.00 pm A wide range of unusual, locally grown and reasonably priced plants and advice on how to grow them. With Dulwich Artists Open House Exhibition. Sat 16 How to grow food in containers* 2.00 - 4.00 pm An introduction to the essentials (watering, sun, feeding, containers, drainage, spacing etc), including practical: microgreens or supermarket herbs. Mark Ridsdill-Smith, verticalveg.org.uk £10 refundable deposit Booking essential Sun 17 Identifying Wild Plants 2: Lily, Rush, Grass and Sedge 10.00 - 4.00 pm Please see session 1-6 for all details. Mark Spencer £50/£250 for all 6 Booking essential Thurs 21 Chelsea Fringe Open Evening 6.00 - 8.00 pm An open garden evening with an additional special event combined with the Chelsea Fringe week. Donations appreciated No booking necessary Weds 27 Nature Trail - Half Term Activity for 4+ and their Carers Helen Cherry & Sarah Webley, joint activity with Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses. Sat 30 Clovers on Blackheath Common 10.00 - 1.00 pm A gentle walk to look for Blackheath's clovers and other flora and fauna we meet. Joe, an associate of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, will bring his own clover guide for identification help. Joe Beale, ACIEEM £15 Booking essential

JUNE Weds 3 Plant Walk - Battersea Rise Cemetery 2.30 pm ‘Home to Many - Wildflowers’ Meet at Cemetery entrance at junction of Battersea Rise and Bolingbroke Grove (near Clapham Junction station). Part of Wandsworth Heritage Festival (23rd May - 7th June) on the theme ‘Homes and Housing’. Roy Vickery, SLBI No booking necessary Donations welcome Sat 6 Plant Walk - Clapham Common 2.30 pm ‘What have we Here? Discovering our local flora’ Meet at Clapham South Underground station, SW12 9DU. Roy Vickery, SLBI No booking necessary Donations welcome Sun 7 Open Garden Squares 2.00 - 5.00 pm Enjoy our garden in the Summer. Garden and house open with plant sales, together with our garden café. See www.opensquares.org for ticket details. Tues 9 Dye Projects in India - A Talk 7.00 pm Vicky will be describing her work : Rediscovering Jajam: Reviving the natural dye traditions in Rajasthan and Gujarat’, with film and samples. Vicky Singh Members free/£5 non-members No booking necessary Sun 14 Identifying Wild Plants 3: Pea, Mint and Figwort 10.00 - 4 .00 pm Please see session 1-6 for all details. Mark Spencer £50/£250 for all 6 Booking essential Sat 20 Botanical Ramble - Epping Forest 10.30 am A 7 1/2 mile walk enjoying the plants of the Forest. Meet at Chingford Station E4 6AL, at 10.30 am, bring a packed lunch. Roy Vickery, SLBI £15 Booking essential Weds 24 Plant Walk - Hillside Gardens Park 7.00 pm ‘Hidden Wildflowers’ Hillside Gardens Park, Hillside Road, SW2 3HL entrance nearest Downton Ave. Roy Vickery, SLBI No booking necessary Donations welcome Thurs 25 Open Evening 6.00 - 8.00 pm Come and enjoy our beautiful garden with a glass of wine on a summer evening with your friends. All welcome Donations welcome