SoBeFree
Spring Outing;
Botanical Excursion;
Foray, Retreat, and Escape to the Environment
Sponsored by the Bryolab, UC Berkeley
Founded in 1996, SO BE FREE is a series of West Coast forays started by the Bryolab at UC Berkeley, but open to all botanists. The main focus is on bryophytes, but we also encourage experts on macroalgae, mushrooms, lichens, ferns, and flowering plants to come along. We welcome specialists as well as generalists, or amateurs who are interested in an overview. It is held each spring, associated with Spring Break at universities. This distinguishes it from the eastern bryological forays (the Andrews and the Blomquist Forays) which are held in the fall. This allows the occasional easterner, desperate as they often are to see plants and blue sky in the spring, a chance to attend.
The usual tradition is to have a four-day, three-night schedule with communal cooking and eating, in inexpensive and remote biological field stations. Evening slide shows and informal talks are presented as well as keying sessions with microscopes. In addition to seeing interesting wild areas and learning new plants, important goals for SO BE FREE include keeping West Coast bryologists (and friends) in touch with each other and teaching beginners.