Joint perspectives

Interview with Séverine Bord, Research Engineer in Statistical Studies at LISIS (Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Sciences, Innovations and Societies), Nathalie Tortrat, Mayor of Gouvernes and Anne Godin,, Director of the Marne-et-Gondoire Tourist Office.

Séverine Bord : “We're lucky enough to be working with two public bodies, Gouvernes Town Hall and Marne-et-Gondoire Tourist Office, who are really on board, opening doors for us, making themselves available and giving us the freedom to work on this sensitive issue in their area. They involve us in their communication tools. They helped us create the flyer, which presents the project and is distributed to the public along with the questionnaire. Initially, there were no plans to work in schools. Thanks to the Town Hall and the Tourist Office, we have run workshops in three communes, raising awareness among almost 350 children. Prevention is very important and for our research, parents are more likely to answer our questionnaire when their children have been educated”.

Nathalie Tortrat : “I know about Lyme disease and some people know a little about tick-related problems, especially if they have pets, but the general public is not sufficiently aware of the problem. More detailed research into the subject will help us to learn more. I thought that the more we knew, the better we could protect the public. Ticks are small, invisible things that can harm us, so we might as well know more about them.”

Séverine Bord : “What I like about this project is that we're bringing a practical prevention message directly to the public. For the workshops in schools, we work in collaboration with the CRMVT, the Reference Centre for Tick-Borne Vector Diseases. In collaboration with an illustrator, they developed games for children: happy families, memory games, etc. We created our workshops based on their advice. The Gouvernes Town Hall has bought tick removers for children, and they are taught how to recognise a tick and remove it correctly if they are bitten. We also look at ticks under a microscope. Children are extremely curious and open-minded. Educating them is a good way of raising awareness among families.
The Tourist Office also invites us to attend events, where we have a stand to present the project, talk about the risk, show ticks and so on. It helps us to meet more people. For example, at the 2025 Rando & Nature festival organised by Marne-et-Gondoire, we met a geocaching association, whose members are particularly exposed. They invited us to take part in their next national event, scheduled for May 2026. This means we can reach new people.”

Séverine Bord : “The Commune of Gouvernes and the Tourist Office have been real facilitators. They put us in touch with the right people. In order to understand the public's vulnerability, we wanted to get an idea of the level of awareness of tick-related risks among the people who regularly visit the areas under study. We drew up a questionnaire that we distribute to different types of people. 
The Commune and the Tourist Office really gave us access to residents and users.”
 

Nathalie Tortrat :The principle was to open as many doors as possible. I gave permission for access to the site, I facilitated meetings with the Marne-et-Gondoire Urban Community, in particular the Environment Department, and I put the researchers in touch with the school to organise workshops.”

Anne Godin : “The Tourist Office is a tool of the Marne-et-Gondoire Urban Community. The research team asked the local authority for figures and data on residents' practices in green spaces. As we are in contact with the local population, with people passing through and also with schoolchildren, and as we do a lot of work around hiking, we met the researchers to see how we could work together. The subject of ticks is of interest to us. We had already worked with the France Lyme association. We posted the research team's questionnaire on our website and social media. We also distributed it at the Russon Mill and Maison de la Nature, which we also manage. We also organised a meeting with the presidents of the local walking clubs.”