MossWorlds is an interdisciplinary project funded by the University of Manchester Research Institute (UMRI) to investigates the historical, contemporary and future importance of mosses. You can read about the project on the MossWorlds website, and I recommend a look at their thought-provoking blog.

The pilot phase of the project is based around Manchester, and they have built a team of people from various disciplines including both artists and scientists. However, they are missing a critical piece – they have been unable to find any local field bryologists to take part, and these would enable them to take forward some of their original ideas, for example:

• To recreate some of the walks undertaken in and around Manchester and described by botanists such as Richard Buxton and Leo Grindon and to see what changes to bryoflora they can chart.
• To map urban mosses in Manchester, and think about how mosses (in parks, in gardens, but also in more ‘spontaneous’ locations) can contribute to – and can get people to think about – urban biodiversity.

If you are based around Manchester and would like to know more about the project, please contact Anke Bernau directly at Anke.Bernau@manchester.ac.uk. Anke is one of the Principal Investigators on the team, and incidentally has just joined the BBS😊.