This is our every-other-year west-side certification, open to anyone.
Registration is open from now until Sept. 3, about 1 month before the event. Payment is required for registration.
For more general information on the certification program and format, please see the Certification pages on the NWL website.
The exam is offered every two years, and the location is changed each year, so this will be a great opportunity to be certified in Washington. After this year, the next exam will be held in 2023, and will probably be in Oregon.
The NWL Certification Exam will take place 8-10 October at the Cispus Center in near Randle, WA. The exam will be challenging but rewarding, with the opportunity to find some strictly coastal species. As in recent years, we will also offer this event as a learning experience, teaching newcomers to the field of lichenology how to identify lichens as well as a bit about their ecology and importance. Examiners are Amanda Hardman and John Villella.
THIS YEAR: You can choose to attend the certification as a training, instead of an exam with certification. You will still collect lichens on the plot but after collection, you will work through your identifications with help from the examiners, both lichenologists. This gives you a chance to learn how to work on difficult genera. Relevant literature will be shared with these trainees. We are asking that folks be vaccinated against Covid-19 as we will be working closely and sharing housing and want to best protect our families and community members who cannot be vaccinated.
HOUSING: Cispus Center rents nice multi-bedroom housing. Details to come later.
TIMING: Check in late Friday afternoon. Exam starts 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, finishes by 4 p.m. on Sunday.
COST: Cost will be $110 (to be paid on this website) plus lodging and facility rental ($50) for a total of US$160. Cost and registration are the same whether you are doing the training or the certification. For those taking ONLY the written exam (for anyone needing to repeat just that), the cost is $45, which includes only one night lodging.
WHY DO IT? Lichen Certification is a valuable addition to your resume, agency botanists and private contracting companies view it as a plus when considering who gets federal contracts and internal jobs.
LODGING details: Cispus Center. The houses and house trailer each hold several participants and each unit has a shared kitchen and multiple bedrooms. Attendees should bring and prepare their own meals. If you wish to have meals prepared for you at the Cispus Center, contact Amanda Hardman.
BEDDING: TBA.
Also bring:
- books and references
- extension cord
- dissecting scope
- lamp for your scope
- tools and chemicals (the examiners will have a set of chemicals but if you have our own, bring them)
- collection equipment
- paper for clean packets (can be recycled 1 side)
- food for yourself (shared kitchens)
- snacks and drinks for the identification day!
