Tick Hunt and Educational Session

Description

Concerned about ticks? Worried about protecting yourself and your pets from illness this tick season? Come join our community Tick Hunt and Educational Session on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 (rain date: Friday, April 24) at 12:00 p.m. at the Cambridge Water Works. The event is organized by the Cambridge Public Health Department and led by tickborne disease specialist Dr. Sam Telford.

Dr. Telford is a Professor of Infectious Diseases and Global Health at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Health. Early in career, he was involved in the development of the only approved human vaccine for Lyme disease. Professor Telford is an internationally renowned expert in Lyme disease and an early pioneer studying deer tick virus and Borrelia miyamotoi disease. He serves as an advisor to local, state, and national organizations on public health interventions against tickborne and mosquito-borne infection. 

This informal field event will begin at noon with a short informal lecture at the Cambridge Water Works. Following the lecture, we will walk through the Fresh Pond Reservation and cross over to Blair Pond to seek out ticks (identified on the spot by Dr Telford) and learn about the general types of ticks and seasonal patterns of activity. Time permitting, we will visit Mount Auburn Cemetery to continue the hunt. All areas we intend to cover are walkable from the Water Works, but may take 10-15 minutes on foot.  

Questions? Contact Sam Lipson, Sr. Director for Environmental Health: slipson@cambrigepublichealth.org.