Waxcap Watch: Getting Ready to Volunteer, Wales, Gwynedd

At least one. We expect there to be high demand for this workshop so in return we’d like you to commit to carrying out at least one Waxcap Watch survey. Obviously if you do more, that’s even better!

These workshops are designed to support people who want to take part in Plantlife’s Waxcap Watch survey. We see it as a good use of our time to upskill volunteers who will then go out and do the survey in 2025 and beyond.

You can find out more about our annual Waxcap Watch, here.

The day will involve walking throughout the reserve on uneven and sloping ground. For a chat about access and your specific needs please contact our Project Officer Sheena, here.

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For the comfort of everyone and smooth running of the event, we do not allow dogs at Plantlife events.

By taking a part in our survey you will help us to:

• Discover previously unknown waxcap grassland sites across the UK
• Get an indication of habitat condition at each site to aid more informed conversations with landowners and land managers
• Make the case to policy makers for better protection for waxcaps
• In Wales, we will look to share new findings with Natural Resources Wales, Fungus groups and other experts to investigate further
• In Scotland, results from the survey will inform conversations with landowners on how best to restore and protect local waxcap grasslands in key project areas such as the Cairngorms National Park

Much of this app is based on the work by Gareth Griffith, John Bratton and Gary Easton. Original publication: Griffith, G.W., Bratton, J.H. & Easton, G. (2004) Charismatic megafungi; the conservation of waxcap grasslands. British Wildlife. October 2004, pp 31-43.

You are responsible for your own health and safety; Plantlife do not accept any liability or responsibility for the wellbeing of surveyors. Similarly, they do not accept any liability or responsibility for damage to, or loss of, personal property.

We always recommend visiting sites and undertaking surveys with someone else and taking the following precautions:

– Check the forecast and make appropriate arrangements. If the weather changes you may need to rethink your plans.
– Take care on uneven or slippery ground and keep to footpaths where necessary.
– Take a mobile phone and let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return.
–  Most fungi are non-toxic; even toxic ones are safe to hold. However, always wash your hands after handling fungi.

England and Wales

Grassland fungi can be found across a variety of different sites, many of which are publicly accessible, such as playing fields, parks or cemeteries. Where there is no open access, keep to public rights of way (footpaths and bridleways). If you plan to carry out a survey on private land, please make sure you obtain the landowner’s permission to access the site.

Scotland

Make sure you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code when carrying out this activity.

Where possible, we would highly recommend using the Survey123 app to complete the survey. It is much more convenient to use, especially when filling in the survey outdoors. The Survey123 app allows you to view and/or edit surveys you’ve already submitted, submit surveys while offline, and save answers to avoid re-entering the same information.
However, if using the app is not feasible, you can alternatively follow this link and then select ‘Open in browser’ to launch the survey in a web browser on your computer. If you choose this option, we recommend looking over the survey form first to see what information you will need to record when carrying out your survey.

You can still access and fill out the survey without mobile data but you must download the Survey123 app in order to do this.
When connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data, download the Survey123 app, as well as the Waxcap Watch survey. You can then begin capturing survey information without a data connection. Upon completing
the survey, you will be given the option to ‘Save in Outbox’, please select this option (see below). In doing so, all your survey results will be stored locally on your device.

When you are able to reconnect to Wi-Fi or mobile data, you will need to submit your survey that has been saved in your Outbox. To do this, navigate to the survey summary page where you will see an ‘Outbox’
folder. By clicking on this folder, you will be able to see the survey you filled out and can submit it by clicking ‘Send’ in the bottom right corner of the screen