Fynbos Plant Identification Course

Are you a fynbos fan who would like to be able to identify what you are looking at?

All courses are run over 5 days from 9h00 to 13h00, and cost R3250. They are held at my home in the Southern suburbs and there is space for a maximum of 10 participants.

John Manning’s Guide to Fynbos is the prescribed text and is used throughout the course. All sessions are practical and focus on learning a systematic process of how to identify a plant and why it is placed in a family and genus, rather than just learning what the species name is.

The course can cater for a wide range of different participants such as hikers, students at all levels, professionals as well as field rangers and managers of nature reserves.

The rate and content of any course depends on the background knowledge and skills, but we cover as many fynbos families as possible along with useful shortcuts.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

  • Use botanical guides efficiently
  • Understand the botanical framework used to classify plants
  • Build on existing knowledge
  • Use botanical jargon to describe the structure of plants
  • Use a hand lens and a dissecting microscope to see fine details
  • Investigate live plants from as many different families as possible
  • Learn the shortcuts to families and genera

Participants are not formally assessed, (unless specifically requested) and the course is not SAQA accredited.

Participants are not formally assessed, (unless specifically requested) and the course is not SAQA accredited.

BOOK NOW

Fynbos Plant Identification Course

Are you a fynbos fan who would like to be able to identify what you are looking at?

All courses are run over 5 days from 9h00 to 13h00, and cost R3250. They are held at my home in the Southern suburbs and there is space for a maximum of 10 participants.

John Manning’s Guide to Fynbos is the prescribed text and is used throughout the course. All sessions are practical and focus on learning a systematic process of how to identify a plant and why it is placed in a family and genus, rather than just learning what the species name is.

The course can cater for a wide range of different participants such as hikers, students at all levels, professionals as well as field rangers and managers of nature reserves.

The rate and content of any course depends on the background knowledge and skills, but we cover as many fynbos families as possible along with useful shortcuts.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

  • Use botanical guides efficiently
  • Understand the botanical framework used to classify plants
  • Build on existing knowledge
  • Use botanical jargon to describe the structure of plants
  • Use a hand lens and a dissecting microscope to see fine details
  • Investigate live plants from as many different families as possible
  • Learn the shortcuts to families and genera

Participants are not formally assessed, (unless specifically requested) and the course is not SAQA accredited.

BOOK NOW

About Me

I delight in drawing flowers and love sharing what I have learnt about fynbos plant identification over many years of hiking in the Cape mountains with my late husband Anthony. I am happiest outside on the mountain, in the sea or in the garden where my spirit can soar.

I am a trained botanist with over 30 years of field and teaching experience and offer regular 5 day fynbos plant identification courses in Cape Town.

I am not affiliated to any educational institution, and I have designed this fynbos plant identification course over the last 20 years in the best way there is: by learning alongside those who have attended the course and adapting the way the information is presented.

I am lucky that I really love what I do and that is teach.

About Me

I delight in drawing flowers and love sharing what I have learnt about fynbos plant identification over many years of hiking in the Cape mountains with my late husband Anthony. I am happiest outside on the mountain, in the sea or in the garden where my spirit can soar.

I am a trained botanist with over 30 years of field and teaching experience and offer regular 5 day fynbos plant identification courses in Cape Town.

I am not affiliated to any educational institution, and I have designed this fynbos plant identification course over the last 20 years in the best way there is: by learning alongside those who have attended the course and adapting the way the information is presented.

I am lucky that I really love what I do and that is teach.

Remember: The best field botanists (professional and amateur ones) draw on years of observing plants and checking with plant descriptions, but still need to refer to botanical books, and ask experts when they get stuck.

Remember: The best field botanists (professional and amateur ones) draw on years of observing plants and checking with plant descriptions, but still need to refer to botanical books, and ask experts when they get stuck.

Book Your Course

Choose a date that suits you!

MAY WEEKEND ID COURSE

Sat 4, Sun 5, Sat 11, Sun 12 and Sat 18 May 2024 in Cape town

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JUNE ID COURSE

Mon 10 June to Fri 14 June 2024 in Cape Town

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JULY ID COURSE

Mon 8 to Fri 12 July 2024 in Cape Town

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AUGUST ID COURSE

Mon 26 to Fri 30 August 2024 in Cape Town

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OCTOBER ID COURSE

Mon 21 to Fri 25 October 2024 at Fernkloof Nature Reserve, Hermanus

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CUSTOM COURSE?

Contact me!

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MAY WEEKEND ID COURSE

Sat 4, Sun 5, Sat 11, Sun 12 and Sat 18 May 2024 in Cape town

BOOK NOW

JUNE ID COURSE

Mon 10 June to Fri 14 June 2024 in Cape Town

BOOK NOW

JULY ID COURSE

Mon 8 to Fri 12 July 2024 in Cape Town

BOOK NOW

AUGUST ID COURSE

Mon 26 to Fri 30 August 2024 in Cape Town

BOOK NOW

OCTOBER ID COURSE

Mon 21 to Fri 25 October 2024 at Fernkloof Nature Reserve, Hermanus

BOOK NOW

CUSTOM COURSE?

Contact me!

BOOK NOW

SUBSCRIBE TO MY
NEWSLETTER

Get updates on the latest courses!

SIGN UP

What My Clients Say?

The biggest AHA moment was not so much about the plants but about John Manning’s Fynbos book and how to use it.
I enjoyed your skillful teaching methods. You kept us moving through a variety of activities and tasks, guided our learning through discovery and provided us with excellent learning materials.
This course has been a revelation. I really had no idea that plants and fynbos had so many incredible adaptations and specializations.
I appreciated learning to look carefully and familiarize myself with what I saw so that an image was formed firmly in my in my mind, eg. the 2 styles and stylopodium of the Resio subgen. Ischyrolepis. It was also a help to consolidate the terminology, to understand it, and to use it correctly, eg. the use of the term spikelet.
I now have a better understanding of how to use the key and information in the book Restios of the Fynbos by Dorrat-Haaksma and Linder. I have hardly used the book but now it’s my new best friend!
You are truly a fantastic teacher! It never ceases to amaze me how well structured your courses are yet how flexible and how much new material you add and seem to fit in seamlessly. I stand agape to how you always make a coherent group of whoever attends the course and how you also accommodate each individual. It is a unique gift and you excel at it.
The aspect of the course that I enjoyed the most was the way it was taught. It was all practical and logical and everything was made fun. We interacted with the plants and each other
This was a great introduction to all the new terminology.
I learnt that you don’t have to know all the species off by heart but you can use books and other resources to identify them and this helps to not forget them.
I realised the importance of doing a sketch of the plant and pulling flowers apart to see how they work.Iit is not as difficult as I had imagined.
I learnt how to use the manning guide and the short cuts to connect with fynbos families first before looking for the genus and species Mapaseko Mohlabi city of Cape town. I learnt to ask questions.
The course was a good reminder of what I learnt at CPUT.
My mind has been opened to the world of fynbos. I feel excited and daunted at the same time.
Now I know the basic structure of a plant and the differences between monocotyledons and dicotyledons.

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Contact Me

I would love to hear from you!

Cape Town, South Africa

+27 74 808 7831

info@wendyhitchcock.co.za

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