Book here – tickets are £7.50

This event will be held at Dibbinsdale Nature Reserve, Wirral.

Join like-minded people with an interest in recording wildlife observations for a day surveying freshwater leeches. Sampling leeches involves pond dipping and hand searches and we will identify specimens to species-level in the field where possible. Any species that cannot be identified in the field will be preserved for identification at the ‘Freshwater Leech Workshop’ the following day at World Museum, Liverpool.

What will the day involve?

• Practical experience using a variety of methods to survey and sample leeches.
• Practical experience in collecting and preserving leeches.
• A chance to meet fellow like-minded people from a range of different disciplines.

Our tutors: Craig Macadam has been studying and recording freshwater invertebrates for over 30 years. He is national recorder for Mayflies, Stoneflies and Leeches, and he frequently gives talks and training on these groups. Craig is particularly interested in the species found in upland areas of the UK and the impact that climate change is having upon them, and overlooked urban habitats such as springs and urban streams. Rachel Davies runs the brand new Freshwater Leech Recording Scheme alongside Craig Macadam, launched in 2024. She has also co-authored the ‘Guide to the Freshwater Leeches of Britain and Ireland’ field guide, published by the Field Studies Council.

All records generated through this event will be submitted to iRecord in order to share our findings with the site managers, the Local Environmental Record Centre and the Freshwater Leech Recording Scheme.

This event is in partnership with the Freshwater Leech Recording Scheme.