Kim L
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mikekally.bsky.social
Kim L
@mikekally.bsky.social
Love nature, learning about ecology. Based in Ireland. All pictures except reposts or otherwise credited are my own, and my phone's not great so don't expect too much 😉
Today, we learned about conifer identification in the grounds of Castlewellan Forest Park's stunning walled garden. Thanks to Charles Shier for such an educational day! @bsbiireland.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Kim L
Today as part of the Botanical Skills Northern Ireland project, Mel Flexen introduced a group to the botany and ecology of lowland raised bogs in Peatlands Park, Armagh. Plenty to see, even at this tine of year!
November 5, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Kim L
Best time to join the growing ranks of #BSBImembers?
In October to get 15 months of benefits for price of 12: that's when 100s of people inc @markavery.bsky.social & @alunsalt.bsky.social joined!
2nd best time? In November, to enjoy 14 months of benefits: bsbipublicity.blogspot.com/2025/10/bsbi...
November 3, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Kim L
Thanks to all who joined us in Oxfird Island to celebrate #NPMS10! Between talks, we practiced Wildflower ID, indicators knowledge, hedgerow surveys, and @organicbotanic.bsky.social took us through botanical photography using a camera phone!
October 26, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Kim L
I'm delighted that we have a whole range of talks from our Northern Ireland Botanical Skills Project taking place this winter on Tuesday evenings.

Want to learn more about conifers? Rushes? Clubmosses? Hawthorns? Plant Pathogenic Fungi? ROBOTS??

See them all here:
bsbi.org/botanical-sk...
Botanical Skills Webinars – Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland
bsbi.org
October 14, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Kim L
Want to up your #WildFlowerID game this winter?
We just launched our Winter Webinar programme!
7-8pm, every Tuesday from 4 Nov - 10 Feb.
Thanks to funding from @daera-ni.gov.uk, these 10 great plant ID webinars are FREE for all of you to attend!
Programme & booking links: bsbi.org/botanical-sk...
October 10, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Kim L
Want to learn more about the National Plant Monitoring Scheme #npms?
Join our 10th anniversary celebrations on volunteer day in Oxford Island, Co Armagh on 25th October (www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...), or in Glenarm, Co Antrim on 6th November (www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...)
Select tickets – National Plant Monitoring Scheme: 10th Anniversary Celebrations, Northern Ireland – Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, County Armagh
National Plant Monitoring Scheme: 10th Anniversary Celebrations, Northern Ireland – Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, County Armagh, Sat 25 Oct 2025 - The National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS) turns 10...
www.tickettailor.com
October 13, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Kim L
Dog walk sightings

#fungi #mushrooms
October 3, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Kim L
Yesterday, NI Training Officers Kim and Jo led two groups on a tree Identification walk through Corbie Wood in Lagan Valley Regional Park, Belfast. We got to see the impressive 500-year old Belvoir Oak, amongst many other species of tree - and some beautiful fungi too!
September 29, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Visited Castlewellan, Co Down, and saw the multistemmed Sequoiadendron giganteum, a redwood grown from seed brought back from California and planted as a single sapling in 1856. It sports an amazing 19 trunks and is absolutely mind-blowing!
October 2, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by Kim L
Our annual membership special offer opens today!
Join us this month & you'll enjoy 15 months of membership benefits for the price of 12.
Those benefits are so numerous & fabulous you'll have to head over here to see them all:
bsbipublicity.blogspot.com/2025/10/bsbi...
Then join us! bsbi.org/join-us
October 1, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I was delighted to see the Belvoir Oak yesterday during a visit to Lagan Valley yesterday. This stunning Oak is approx 500 years old, with an 8m girth. An ancient pollarded pedunculate oak, now missing most of its upper branches and its heartwood, it's still putting on a show and producing acorns.
September 29, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Reposted by Kim L
On Saturday, we held a Northern Ireland Recorders Meeting in the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre. From far and wide, recorders came to learn about willow identification and hybrids, then roamed the site, willow-hunting. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @mikekally.bsky.social
September 29, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Reposted by Kim L
Yesterday, we visited @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social 's working farm reserve in Fermanagh with the NIEA Habitats team, carefully exploring around the Marsh Fritillary caterpillar webs in the grasslands, and combing the woods for Yellow Birds Nest Orchid.
September 6, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Kim L
On Thursday, NIEA joined us in Fermanagh to study horsetails and hunted for Lesser Twayblade in Lough Nevar Forest Park, as part of our Botanical Skills NI project.
September 6, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Reposted by Kim L
Fantastic views of Scotland today for Glenarm Wildlife Group NPMS volunteers carrying out the second NPMS survey of the summer with Jo BSBI Training Officer. The cows had already visited plot 4! @bsbibotany.bsky.social
August 28, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Kim L
🌍🌱🌾🪴🌳🌼🪾Second semi-final Aberdeen 16 versus Eden Project 13 points, so final is Aberdeen versus Plymouth. Botanical University Challenge #BUC2025 Starts 16:00 today 20 August.
August 20, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Kim L
I'm at the @bucbotany.bsky.social final today and it's been an absolute nail-biter. Always humbling to see plant ID questions juxtaposed with questions about horticulture, enzymes and genetics. Congratulations to Aberdeen for having the all-round skills to win it!
August 20, 2025 at 5:26 PM
A quick visit to the allotment for some tomatoes and remembered my onions and garlic hadn't been plaited up. A few are starting to bolt, so we'll use those first.
August 13, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Kim L
A close look at #BlackMedick #Fabaceae #Botany #Wildflower #Flower #Plant #Nature #PlantID #Flowers please help the channel bring another in the series by Like Share or Subscribing on YOU TUBE Coming soon Wild Carrot Teasel Narrow leaved Ragwort & more www.youtube.com/@wildliferan...
August 11, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Kim L
100s of you across Britain & Ireland bought a print copy of the latest #BSBIHandbook, Brambles of Scotland (many of the 56 species occur outside Scotland!)
Now you can buy it as a standalone eBook
bsbi.org/publications...
Bramble ID on the go? Holidaying in Scotland? You'll want this eBook! Only £10
August 12, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Kim L
Took part in the #BigButterflyCount 2025 yesterday. Recorded the gatekeeper, meadow brown, lots of speckled woods, the large white and a single ringlet.
August 11, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Reposted by Kim L
And that's a wrap, folks! Thanks to everyone who joined us over 4 days of bramble field outings in Northern Ireland with Brambles of Scotland author Angus Hannah and Rubus referee David Earl. We're planning some general rubus training for you to prepare for more exploration next summer!
August 11, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Kim L
We visited Slieve Foye in County Louth today to learn about the acidic and base-rich habitats present. As part of the Irish Grasslands Project, Ciaran taught us to ID some of the grasses and sedges vegetatively, always a challenge! @bsbibotany.bsky.social look at those views!
August 10, 2025 at 9:06 PM
(Round-leaved?) Sundew and Lesser Clubmoss from Slieve Foye today, and Rock Samphire from Donabate beach earlier this week. Plus a gorgeous Common Carder Bee on a Spear Thistle, a late entry for #wildflowerhour !
August 10, 2025 at 8:40 PM