Win a reward for your lichen project

Do you enjoy getting outdoors to do fieldwork? Are you interested in lichens? By investigating lichens with your school you could win up to £250 from the British Lichen Society (BLS).

The Tom Chester Award is given every year by the BLS to schools or students from Year 1 to Year 13 (ages 5-19) for successful fieldwork involving lichens.

The award includes a cash sum of up to £250. Last year's winners, Ponsbourne St Mary’s Primary School, chose to spend the money on a digital camera to help record their findings.

Would you like to be considered for the 2010 award?
If you think your school could be next year's winner, then you’ll need to put together a brief project proposal. This should be no more than 250 words long and outline the purpose, location and duration of the project, the observations you will make, how findings will be recorded and how you plan to spend the award.

Projects could involve looking at lichen distribution in your area or investigating which lichens grow on specific surfaces. Perhaps you have your own question you’d like to answer. For more ideas and information on different projects see the Projects for Schools page on the BLS website.

The British Lichen Society can also help with your project by putting you in touch with a local lichenologist or by providing email support.

Project proposals should be emailed to Barbara Hilton on bphilton [at] eclipse [dot] co [dot] uk. The successful applicant will be notified by 15 April 2010.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRY NOW PASSED

The British Lichen Society works closely with OPAL and was a key partner in developing the OPAL air survey.