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This weekend course will provide an introduction to earthworms as a group, their natural history, how to collect them and how to identify them to species level using microscopes. The course will be a mixture of classroom sessions and fieldwork. The course is suitable for those with an interest in earthworms, and no experience of microscopes or earthworm identification is necessary (but please note that we will be working with dead specimens, which are essential for accurately identifying species). By the end of the weekend participants will:

There are currently 29 species of earthworm living freely in soils in the UK. They are vital to the economic health of our country, as they are crucial for soil health, food production, waste decomposition and even flood mitigation. They are also a vital food resource for many other species of wildlife. In addition, they were a lifelong obsession of Charles Darwin, and have many fascinating behaviours.