You Will Need
- flower dial template (4 pieces)
- card
- pritt stick or glue plastic
- coating or clear sticky plastic
- colouring pencils or markers
- scissors
- compass
- envelope sealing pin
What To Do
- Print out the two large sides of the bog plant dial and two copies of the smaller arrow dial from the Bog Watch Flower Identification Dial Template.
- Cut out the bog plant dials and the arrow dials. Leave the arrow dials to one side.
- Cut out a piece of card the same size as the larger bog plant dials.
- Glue the plant dials onto either side of the piece of card.
- Colour in the flowers if you like on the plant dials. This helps identification.
- Cover each item in clear sticky plastic to make the dial waterproof.
- Pierce a hole in the centre of the cross marked on each of the three pieces using a compass point. Bind the three pieces together with a brass envelope sealing pin. The two arrow dials should spin freely.
How to Use the Bog Watch Flower Identification Dial
One side of the flower dial is to be used to identify plants that have a flower, the other side is to identify plants that seem to have no flower. Always check that you are using the correct side of the dial. Point the magnifying glass at the plant you want to check. The notes will tell you about the shape and colour of the flower and about any special features of the plant.
Text, Photographs and Images © Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare. Email: bogs@ipcc.ie; Tel: +353-45-860133.