Tips for preparing for a FISC (Field Identification Skills Certificate)

I have had an interest in plants and botany since I had an interest in ecology- a few decades ago now..! Throughout my degree, and then my masters, plants was the niche I was most excited about and I have kept up my own learning consistently ever since. This, has often been a bit of pain in the arse for any and all that happen to go on a walk with me.

So in 2025, I decided to do a FISC, which stands for Field Idenfication Skills Certificate. I think this is a great scheme, as it is not a failable test. Attendees score on a scale up to six (the higher levels are extremely rare to score) with different levels detailed in the FISC guide, giving you an idea of where you are in the skills level. This helps plan your identification skills, understand what sort of activities you can do at your score level and where to go next. This system is what made me want to do a FISC, it is a fantastic chance to understand where you are at.

I was extremely nervous about my FISC, it was important to me and I had worked really hard and consistently to keep up my botanical skills for many years. However it was a brilliant day, I was completely overjoyed at my score considering my career level overall, I found the tutors fantastic. I thoroughly recommend attending a FISC if the option is available to you.

Once you've decided on doing a FISC, you'll be wondering how to prepare. The FISC guide is so detailed and helpful but otherwise I found very little information about it online, perhaps it's a bit niche! So here are some things I did to prepare, that you might find useful too.

1. STUDY the FISC guide and know what is coming in each seperate aspect of the FISC day. I won't go into huge detail of that here, as the guide is great and covers the details.

2. Sign up for the notifications when FISC dates go live. Dates sell out quickly. I missed a few of my local venues as they sold out within days. The dates go live early in the year, so I signed up for the handy reminder on the BSBI website.

3. Get to know a field guide well well in advance. There are many to choose from and some are suggested in the FISC guide. I do recommend trying those and seeing how you personally find their useability etc. I have a Collins guide (as it was written by my extremely lovely lecturer- David Streeter) but I also used another guide too. Get to know your field guide inside out. That book/s should be your bible.

4. Learn to key out. This will be absolutely vital for the lab based parts of the FISC but is also an incredibly important skill.

5. Learn species from each family, as a wide range of species are covered (all details of the breakdown are in the guide)

6. Get a good nights sleep. It's a busy day with lots of brain power needed. I chose to stay down the night before and after my FISC (I couldn't get a local test at a time that worked, so chose a further away test).

7. Talk to others who have done a FISC. If you work in consultancy you're likely to know someone who has completed their FISC. Get some tips, ask if they want to head out on a botanical walk and see what you find. I have learnt a lot from simply heading on a walk and seeing what I find.

8. Choose your FISC location and date wisely. Think about what you are strongest in and what will be flowering when and where. This might be closest to where you live, or it might be close to your home town.

9. Find your best way to learn. I personally have found a nice little way to pick up casual knowledge and see new species is via botanical facebook groups. I read through the comments and check the species in my books. It's a fun casual way to learn. You might find YouTube videos help too.

10. Practical tips. The field identification aspect can be overwhelming. I scored highest in this part, I think in part because I tried to be as methodical as I could be. I sat and focussed on every different habitat in the test area. I put down everything I was sure of, figured out if anything I was less sure of was keyable reliably and anything I was unsure of, I left. You get scored down for mis IDs on this part. I moved through the site with a plan, making sure I got to every area, recording every species I knew. Once the papers were handed in, you could ask the gold standard surveyor, and do it! Anything you would like to learn, ask ask ask once it's over.

I sincerly hope you have a fantastic FISC experience. You can't fail, so have a go. I learnt a lot from the experience itself too. Good luck!