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An enthusiastic account of the recent years of a burgeoning ecological movement - The British Lichen Society. Formed in 1958 the society created a complete listing of all British lichens. Lichens are like a multitude of small watchmen recording the progress of pollution across the countryside. They are indicators of air-quality, traffic pollution, fertilisers and acid rain. Join the lichenologists as they search high and low, in good weather and bad, for these incredibly diverse organisms.
"HUNTERS? People hunt lichens? Yes, there are groups of devoted individuals who determinedly scour the UK to find lichen growths, identify them and map the sites. They expend energy and time tramping to remote spots in all kinds of weather to spot these sometimes colourful - and sometimes unprepossessing - symbiotic associations of green algae or cyanobacteria and filamentous fungi.
The lichen hunters' enthusiasm is reviving a pursuit that until recently was fading in popularity, with efforts in the UK lagging behind those of other countries. Now the British Lichen Society is thriving and contributes to international research. This may involve landing by helicopter on mountaintops, or gruelling walks in high and low places, forests and heaths." - Roy Herbet, New Scientist Jan 2005
"The reader is taken on a white-knuckle tour through seemingly familiar territory as if for the first time.. The whole book makes for compulsory, lively reading; it is really difficult to put down." - Lichenologist
