Outdoor Initiatives
The Lyme Resource Centre aims to raise awareness of the risk of tick borne disease whilst encouraging the public to enjoy the outdoor countryside.
Here are some of our recent and ongoing projects:
●Ticks & Lyme disease Awareness Signage Project
●What makes viruses tick? Project
●Tick Trail in West Lothian Country Parks (2022)
●Lyme Resource Centre Outdoors - face to face with the public
LRC Ticks & Lyme disease Awareness Signage Project
The Lyme Resource Centre has designed and funded an "Outdoor Awareness Signage Project" and partnered with the “What makes viruses tick? (WMVT)" project and "The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)" to install these signs in a variety of popular outdoor spaces in Scotland. The signs are carefully designed to help people recognise ticks and know how to prevent or detect tick bites. They describe how to safely remove an attached tick and how to recognise symptoms of Lyme disease.
The signs make use of QR code technology to direct interested individuals to further information available on the LRC website and to enable reporting of sightings to the “What makes viruses tick” project tick map, building an understanding of tick density across Scotland.
Working with a variety of outdoor partners such as local authorities, organisations with responsibility for managing outdoor spaces, the Scout Association and many other outdoor groups, the LRC is promoting placement of this unique signage in popular outdoor areas across Scotland - encouraging the public to continue to enjoy the outdoors whilst raising awareness of ticks and Lyme disease.
If you have responsibility for the management of a popular outdoor space or just enjoy the outdoors and would wish to participate in, or sponsor, this project (signage is installed with the permission of the landowner) please contact LRC administration.
What makes viruses tick?
"What makes viruses tick? (WMVT)" is a project hosted within the MRC- University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) by the Brennan Lab.
The Lyme Resource Centre and The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) have partnered with WMVT to promote public engagement and citizen science - encouraging the public to get involved by reporting tick sightings in order to build a tick map for Scotland.
The LRC signs facilitate this by including a QR code which enables the public to easily contribute tick sightings.
For more information on this project click here
Tick Trail in West Lothian Country Parks (2022)
West Lothian Council Countryside Ranger Ben Dolphin had a particular interest in ticks and tick borne disease and worked in partnership with the Lyme Resource Centre to develop a “Tick trail”. The tick trail is a series of cartoon boards raising awareness of ticks and tick borne disease and how to avoid and deal with them should they be encountered. The public can access further information via QR codes which link to useful websites.
The sequential boards were particularly aimed at engaging children and were sited in three country parks in the West Lothian area namely in Beecraigs, Polkemmet and Almondell and Calderwood country parks. The story boards were drawn up by Ben and the content was quality assured by LRC. The signs have proven popular with walkers and children in the West Lothian area.
If you wish to replicate the Tick Trail in your area, please contact admin@lymeresourcecentre.com for further information
Copyright © : WestLothianCouncil
Lyme Resource Centre Outdoors - face to face with the public
As part of our objective to raise awareness and to educate the public about ticks and tick borne diseases the Lyme Resource Centre develops a calendar of events which volunteers and trustees of the LRC endeavour to attend to talk with the public and to distribute material such as leaflets, posters and chocolate limes!
Scoutfest - Fordell Firs, Fife. 18th March 2023
Our small team of trustees and volunteers spent a fantastic day talking to hundreds of Scout leaders and officials, raising awareness, answering questions and recruiting some amazing people to support our charity:
• through raising awareness using our education material
• by volunteering to continue our ‘tick and lyme disease’ awareness signage installation campaign across Scotland.
A burning issue for the Scout leaders was an increasing concern about noticing ticks while their Scout groups were undertaking outdoor activity.
LRC were delighted to be invited to the beautiful David Marshall Lodge in the heart of the Trossachs in Aberfoyle to raise awareness of how to protect yourself from Lyme Disease. This will be a regular event for LRC due to the success of the event.
Plans are afoot for attendance at the Glasgow Science Festival in the Botanic Gardens in June and more events to follow.
Duke of Edinburgh Scheme
LRC have been working with Duke of Edinburgh groups on how to protect themselves from ticks and Lyme disease.
If you would like to invite the LRC to display a stand or to present at one of your events please contact us here.