British Lichen Society

The British Lichen Society welcomes all who are interested in lichens, whether you are a complete beginner or someone with a life-time’s experience of lichenology. Throughout the world, but with a special emphasis on the British Isles, our aims are: to promote and advance the teaching and study of lichens;to encourage and actively support the conservation of lichens and their habitats; to raise public awareness of the beauty of lichens and of their importance as indicators of the health of our environment. They work towards these aims through field meetings, workshops and recording projects. Their Bulletin is packed with information about lichens, lichenologists and events, and we also publish a highly regarded scientific journal, The Lichenologist. All BLS members are encouraged to get involved in the various activities of the Society. Some of these are described in this section, but you should also keep an eye on the regular updates to the News Items and Events Calendar on this website for news of other projects that may be of interest to you. The Society offers one vacation scholarship annually to provide an undergraduate student with research experience in any branch of lichenology. Candidates should be higher education/university students in Britain who are about to complete their second or third year of study. The maximum value of the scholarship is £200 per week for a maximum of 10 weeks, plus a small grant towards the cost of materials, amounting to an overall maximum of £2,200. The project should be complete in itself, although this need not preclude topics related to broader studies, and it should not constitute a required part of degree work, or an expedition or work outside the UK. Tom Chester had a deep interest in churchyard lichens, developed while he was head-teacher of a Northamptonshire primary school. His bequest enables the Society to offer awards of up to £250, to schools or colleges for fieldwork involving lichens by an individual or group of students between the ages of 5-19 years.