Lichens topic of plant society lecture
The Rhode Island Wild Plant Society will present a talk on lichens at its Nov. 11 meeting at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center, off Route 1 in Charlestown.
The talk, by lichenologist Elizabeth Kneiper, will introduce
attendees to the biology and ecology of one of the plant worlds' most interesting species. After the lecture, Kneiper will guide a walk on the Kettle Pond trails to identify and observe some of the local lichen species.
Fellowship begins at 12:30 p.m. and the speaker will begin at 1:30 p.m.
Elizabeth Kneiper is a popular and knowledgeable lecturer and instructor on New England's lichens. She is employed by the USDA Forest Service Health Monitoring Program as a lichen trainer for their field crews. Elizabeth has done lichen inventory work for the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and is currently working on documenting the lichen diversity on Nantucket and Tuckernuck for the Maria Mitchell Association and the Tuckernuck Land Trust. Thanks to a FELS grant, Elizabeth has developed a short field guide to the more common lichens in the cemeteries in Lincoln and Sudbury, Mass.
The talk is free and open to the public.