We have had an amazing experience at the Natural History Museum so far. We kicked off at the beginning of March with a very warm welcome from the Museum, both from our introductions and tours at the Angela-Marmont Centre (AMC) and the NHM Big Welcome. We were introduced to a variety of departments, libraries and collections.

The highlights for us were seeing the Integrated Pest Management (IPM), botanical library, tank room and the British herbarium and British invertebrate collections. On the IPM tour it was really interesting to learn about the different techniques that are used, while avoiding chemicals, to keep pests like the biscuit beetle out of our collections. The importance of this was brought home to us seeing the damage that could be done within a very short space of time. The botanical library was stunning. Not just for the vast amount of knowledge and historical significance tucked away in those shelves, but also for the volumes of marvelous botanical art. We were all taken aback by the skill and anatomical detail these paintings showed. Between the tank room, herbarium and invertebrate collections we saw a variety of ways in which we should preserve specimens. From the smallest flies dry and pinned, to sharks submerged in ethanol. These varieties in preservation techniques are really important to insure that the specimens can be identified and used for decades to come.

The wildlife garden has been a fantastic place for us to practice different survey techniques with the added bonus of contributing to records there. We are looking forward to spending more time there as the year continues.

The team at the AMC have been incredibly welcoming. We feel part of the team since we have been attending meetings and helping out with various projects, such as verifying photo identification for the OPAL bugs count, reorganising the AMC library, helping prepare survey packs for the Earthworm watch survey. We have also been getting ready for the upcoming BioBlitz’s at Brompton cemetery (27th – 28th May) and Tring (18th June) as well as the Nature Day at the Gilbert White Museum (28th May). We are also looking forward to helping manage the identification Twitter account, which will mean we have more interaction with members of the public while improving our identification skills and networking with experts around the Museum.

Throughout Phase 1 of our traineeship we have been introduced to topics relevant to identification and going out and recording. Our first was an introduction to taxonomy and keys, which really helped us to understand the process that taxonomists use in applying a name to a species as well as the different methods of forming keys. We soon discovered between us that we all had varying success with different keys, and that it was really important to try out a variety of keys with each group to find which one best suited us individually. On top of all this we had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of Tring, The Linnean Society and the Biological Records Centre (BRC). The team at Tring were very welcoming and showed us around the amazing collections that they have, from fleas with clothes to their egg collection, and of course their outstanding bird specimen collection.

Our trip to The Linnean Society was jaw-dropping with so much history and knowledge in one building. We are now always on the lookout for days we are free to go back and listen to one of the many lectures and debates available to the public at The Linnean Society.

We have learned so much over the last two months and are all feeling more confident about going into the next phase of the traineeship where we will be doing identification workshops across difficult groups, such as bryophytes and hymenoptera. We will also be starting our placements with the Field Studies Council (FSC), which we are all very excited about!

We can’t wait to get going with Phase 2 of the ID Trainers for the Future traineeship.

Written by Sophie Trice

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It’s a day for people who are fascinated by spiders but don’t know where to start with them. It’s a very gentle introduction to the world of spiders and the art of telling one spider from another.

• Come and see different types of live British spiders
• Learn some of their names
• Learn how to tell a few of them apart
• Listen to some fascinating talks by local spider experts
• Find out what to do if you want to take your interest further

There is a booking fee of £10.  Bookings and more information can be found on the FSC website.

Dr. Rich Burkmar is a project officer with the FSC looking after the Tomorrow’s Biodiversity project. He has a wide-ranging interest in natural history and has been, for almost ten years, a keen recorder of spiders and, more recently, harvestmen. He is an active member of the Shropshire Spider Group and, through the Tomorrow’s Biodiversity project, is helping the group to develop an integrated training programme catering for all levels from beginner to expert, and concentrating on progressing the skills and contribution of individuals.

Nigel Cane-Honeysett is a founding member of the Shropshire Spider Group (SSG) and is the British Arachnological Society’s Vice County Recorder for Shropshire and West Midlands Regional Organiser. He manages the database of Spiders and Harvestmen found in Shropshire. He has taken a pivotal role in the development of the SSG, organising many field meetings and nurturing a fledgling group of active recorders. For his sins, Nigel is also the treasurer of the British Arachnological Society!

Dr. Charlie Bell joined the FSC in Feb 2015 to work on the Tomorrow’s Biodiversity project. She joined Tom.bio from Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, where she worked as Living Rivers Officer. Her varied interests range from chalk stream ecology and management through to birds, moths, springtails, earthworms and, since joining Tom.bio, Spiders & Harvestmen! Charlie combines her part time role on the Tom.bio project with another on river catchment management based out of Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

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It is not a formal course, but instruction is available for those not familiar with the process of identifying earthworms. There will be plenty of more experienced people on hand to help out those who are new to it. The workshop is entirely classroom based.

This Sunday workshop follows a practical day of earthworm sampling the day before at Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s Pontesford and Earl’s Hill reserves. The field day is entirely outdoors. Over the course of the Sunday workshop we will identify earthworms collected the previous day.

You don’t have to attend the Saturday field session in order to book onto the workshop. And you don’t have to book onto the workshop to attend the Saturday field session!

There is a booking fee for the Sunday workshop of £5.00. If you wish to book please visit the FSC website. If you wish to attend the field day (for which there is no booking fee), just send us an email to admin@tombio.uk to say you are coming.

Earthworm identification – to the level required for most scientific records – requires that earthworms be collected, killed and preserved. So only come along to the field session and/or workshop if you are comfortable with that.

Keiron Brown works for the Bat Conservation Trust but has a (not so secret) passion for earthworms! He is the Recording Officer for the Earthworm Society of Britain (ESB), one of the leading earthworm recorders in the UK, and an experienced earthworm identification trainer.

Dr Charlie Bell joined the FSC in Feb 2015 to work on the delivery phase of the Tomorrow’s Biodiversity project.  Charlie combines her part time role on the Tom.bio project with working as one half of the national Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) Secretariat, based out of Shropshire Wildlife Trust. She is an active earthworm recorder in Shropshire.

Dr Rich Burkmar is an ecologist looking after the FSC’s Tomorrow’s Biodiversity project. He is an active earthworm recorder in Shropshire.

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