In June, RSK Biocensus ecologists gathered at the Coventry office for two consecutive days of Field Identification Skills Certificate (FISC) exams. The FISC is the industry standard qualification for demonstrating botanical competency, and consists of a level between 1 and 6, with competent surveyors generally achieving a level 3 or higher. It’s an onerous exam consisting of lab and field test elements, administered by the Botanical Society for Britain and Ireland (BSBI), and arranged and assessed by Senior Consultant and FISC level 6 botanist Pete Flood.
The lab tests are comprised of 30 specimens, with an initial 10 to be identified without books. These are generally common and ubiquitous species such as Foxgloves or Daisies, and candidates can usually complete this part of the exam in a matter of minutes before moving on to the more trying part of the lab test – 20 specimens with books.
The plants in this second lab test can come from anywhere in the British Isles, and the test protocols specify that a certain number of grasses, aquatic plants, ferns and other groups should be included, from a range of habitats. Lab test specimens used over the two days of testing in June included such obscurities as Corynephorus canescens (Grey Hair-grass), a rare grass of the East Anglian coast, and Illecebrum verticillatum (Coral-necklace), a beautiful little plant which makes its home in New Forest puddles. All botanists rely on contextual information, and seeing an array of plants laid out without any clues as to their original habitats is a real test of the ability to determine species based on floristic characters alone. Would-be botanists are reduced to pulling plants to pieces and staring down hand lenses and microscopes in an effort to find diagnostic features that can be quite tiny. The second lab test typically ends with a lot of consternation about the difficulty of the specimens.
In the afternoon, candidates took part in the field element of the test, surveying all vascular plants within a site a short journey away from the office. For this test, a ‘Gold Standard Surveyor’ – an excellent botanist at or above FISC level 5 standard – is used to provide a ‘definitive’ species list against which the candidates lists are judged. We were lucky enough to be able to employ the services of Dr Richard Carter, botanical Vice- County Recorder for West Norfolk and Scientific Director for RSK Environment. Sites are 2 to 3 hectares in size and the exams last 2 hours, with candidates meeting back at a pre-arranged spot after the survey. The two sites chosen, Claybrookes Marsh and Brandon Reach Nature Reserve, are managed by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, who kindly granted access for the FISC exam.
Twenty-five candidates, including 3 external candidates, were tested over the two days, with most candidates achieving a level 3 or better. The level of technical expertise on show was very impressive, particularly when it came to field survey skills. And hopefully, despite the rigours of the lab test, everyone had an enjoyable time.