Getting Permission to Pick?

So I was wondering the other day about how you would actually go about getting permission to pick flowers or remove wild plant material from a site in the UK? at the moment I have a Herbarium assignment to complete for college for which I need to collect 30 specimens of UK wild plants and then mount and label them, nothing special just basic UK wild plants but I was thinking of collecting material from around near where my mum Lives in West Sussex so far this is the list of things I think I need to check/get.

Can anyone think of anything else? and also where would I find out about by-laws restricting plant collecting?
Of course the above is only after I have exhausted road verges and central reservations (on A roads only I might add!) or more likely been hit by lorry whilst on one of my many expeditions to dig up some random wild plant and have to have wheelchair access to collect anything thereafter

 

Wotcha me old Chestnut,

Like you say, you need permission to dig up any wild plant. Easiest way might be to find some neighbours with overgrown gardens & ask them, suprising what pops up in a garden.

If you've got time then gathering soil & waiting to see what comes up is a good way of getting plants.

I've got a pot of soil from an estuary which seems to be growing Sea Purslane at the moment.

I think i've got a thread about the wildlife & countryside act knocking about here somewhere, that might help.

I'm off to the garden centre now, i'll have a look for it when I come back

 

Aesculus

Did the College who set the assignment not supply you with the information on legalities?

Steve...

 

In a very mild way... basically stick to common plants and don't pick anything unless there's lots of it and you know specifically that it's not protected in anyway.

Basically because were horticulture/plantsmaship students I think it's usually acceptable to pick for means of identification and private herbaria and being enrolled at RBGE it's probably very unlikely I would be prosecuted but it's always nice to be on the safe side:thumb:

 

:DOH:http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/wfsoc/wfs_new_pages/1f_code_of_conduct.htm

It was pinned to the top of this section, that means Aesculus has probably already seen it:DOH:

By "Mounting them" do you mean pressing ? you dont need permission to pick wild flowers unless they are on the schedule,

http://www.ukwildlife.com/index.php/wildlife-countryside-act-1981/schedule-8/

But its unlikely that you'll come across many of these.

 

Thanks ziggy =]

Yes pressing them like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35qgfShomYY

 

I agree with Ziggy. I once took the trouble of reading the wildlife and countryside act, along with a couple of other countryside related laws (it was just after I took on my land, when I wanted to make sure my plans were on the right side of the law).

Do you plan to uproot the plants, or just take the top growth? If its the former then you need the permission of the landowner. If its the latter, you don't. However, you still need to be a little bit careful, because the Theft act still technically applies (although I've never heard of anyone getting caught out by it for the sake of wild plants). You'd have to have a run in with the worlds most bureacratic and pedantic landowner/manager to be accused of pinching in this context.

There is a code of conduct (probably the same one Ziggy supplied the link to) that basically says what you already know, stuff like only taking a few things from somewhere where there's loads, take care not to damage anything etc.

As Ziggy says, you do need to check the schedule of protected species listed in the wildlife and countryside act, because in the case of some species it is illegal to pick or otherwise damage the plant.

 

Thanks Clueless, I only need to take the top growth really so I should be fine

 

How long you got on this one ? If we were to press a couple of wild flowers each from our gardens and post them to you, you'd end up with a complete herbarium of Europe, North America and Jamaica