Experience of participatory research in the Madon watershed (Lorraine, France)
Participatory research establishes a partnership between the academic community (university laboratory and its researchers) and the associative or school environment, in order to conduct scientific studies. This approach favours a better understanding of the scientific approach by the public (whether children or adults) and provides data on the long-term or over a large geographical area that are useful for researchers. It is in this context that two actions took place between 2012 and 2014 in the Madon River watershed. The Madon River is a tributary of the Moselle, in the south of Lorraine (northeastern France). The first action was carried out as part of a socio-cultural event (les Chemins de l’Eau) organized by the Fédération Départementale des Foyers Ruraux in June 2013 to educate visitors about the water resources in their immediate environment. A water library was created. The second action was focused on primary school classes (CE2-CM1-CM2 and CM2) from three rural communities along the Madon (Lerrain, Mattaincourt and Haroué). All samples were subjected to laboratory analysis: pH, conductivity, dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, major ions, optical properties (UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence). These experiments provided a temporal monitoring of three stations along the Madon River and allowed the public to participate in the mapping of water resources in the Vosges area based on watershed characteristics and land use. In both cases the participants proved to be very interested by the approach.