Through a four-month fellowship in South Carolina, Nathan Hayes (right), a scientist from the isle of Jersey in the Channel Islands learned from local experts, including Clemson University’s Dave Coyle, Ph.D. (left). Hayes also built professional collaborations and gained in-depth experience that will advance invasive species response efforts on both sides of the Atlantic. (Photo courtesy of Nathan Hayes)

By Nathan Hayes

Nathan Hayes

Jersey—the original Jersey, not New Jersey—the island I call home, is a small British Crown Dependency in the English Channel, just 46 square miles. It’s small, relaxed, quiet, and a long way—geographically and culturally—from Charleston, South Carolina, where I was primarily based during a four-month fellowship in early 2025.

I’ll admit to feeling slightly daunted at the prospect of working in the U.S. The sheer size of the country was a shock. Even the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis, or ALB) quarantine zone in Charleston—where I joined experts in their research and eradication efforts—spans 76 square miles, nearly double the size of Jersey!

Nonetheless, I felt it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.

Common Challenges Across Borders

The European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) Jens-Georg Unger Plant Health Fellowship offers the potential for plant health professionals to gain international experience in another country or organisation through a secondment. I was awarded the fellowship to work on two simultaneous projects: first, learning about the detection, management, and eradication of the Asian longhorned beetle in Charleston; and, second, working with pest risk analysis experts at the National Science Foundation Center for Integrated Pest Management at North Carolina State University.

Given Jersey’s size, you’d be forgiven for thinking that plant health in Jersey is a bit of a stroll in the park in comparison to the U.S. and that there can’t be many similarities between this small island nation and the United States of America. But you’d be wrong.

Despite the differences in scale, weather, economies (and even sense of humour), it turns out we’re wrestling with much the same problems: Invasive non-native species damage our natural, agricultural, and built environments, and we’re all struggling to deal with this while resource issues, politics, and technology (or a lack of) get in the way.

You may be wondering what the connection between Jersey and South Carolina is. That’s where my host David Coyle, Ph.D., associate professor of forest health and invasive species at Clemson University, comes in. Previously in 2023, Dr. Coyle visited Jersey as part of an expert working group tasked with “threat scoring” established invasive species on the island. That same year, having been told about the EPPO fellowship over coffee at a conference, I knew just the person to reach out to.

Hands-On Field Experience

During his four-month fellowship in South Carolina, Nathan Hayes learned about the practical elements of an ongoing eradication programme in a challenging environment. “To really learn something, I’m a firm believer in doing. Working in swampy Charleston, where snake boots and mosquito spray are a must, really puts you to the test and requires problem-solving skills that you can’t quite replicate in theory,” he says. (Photo courtesy of Nathan Hayes)

I gained valuable insights into the biology and phenology of the ALB. I also learned about the practical elements of an ongoing eradication programme in a challenging environment. To really learn something, I’m a firm believer in doing. Working in swampy Charleston, where snake boots and mosquito spray are a must, really puts you to the test and requires problem-solving skills that you can’t quite replicate in theory.

I got the opportunity to work with researchers and regulators at the forefront of this eradication programme, gaining knowledge that can be applied far beyond ALB.

Further to that point, even with the best intentions, researchers can’t publish everything they work on; often there just isn’t the time or resources to do so. That’s where I hope to have played a small part by helping researchers pull together some of their research on ALB into a review article on the history of ALB trapping and eradication efforts in the U.S. The paper (in progress) fills a much-needed gap in the literature by providing a consolidated account of what’s been tried, what worked, and what didn’t.

Working with ALB specialists gave me confidence that we could deal effectively with this species should it ever reach Jersey. I’m also comforted in knowing that there’s a network of specialists only a phone call away.

Scientific Training

Onto the desk-based part of my fellowship: Working with Yu Takeuchi, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Center for Integrated Pest Management, I learned about the pest risk analysis (PRA) process, which I was to apply to Platypus quercivorus and its fungal symbiont Drydomyces quercivorus, the causal agent of Japanese oak wilt. PRA is a formal process that aims to evaluate the threat posed by a pest and how to mitigate those risks. PRA is not something we’ve historically had the capability to do in Jersey. By learning from those who do it in the U.S., I hoped to bring these skills back to Jersey so that we could write PRAs for ourselves in the future. The skills in PRA I have gained allow Jersey to assess threats to the island more independently in the long-term.

I should mention I’m not an entomologist by training, so working with entomologists on these two projects was a steep learning curve. A highlight was simply learning about mycangia, the specialized structures that allow ambrosia beetles to transport symbiont fungi into their galleries.

Coming to the U.S. also offered a view into different systems, technologies, and institutional approaches. I hope to have brought interesting and new perspectives and different questions while being open to exchanging not just ideas but culture, experiences, and curiosity.

The Value of International Collaboration

One of the most rewarding aspects of my fellowship was the people I got to meet along the way. I met some brilliant scientists who’ve now become friends. I was struck by the hospitality I was shown, in challenging times for the scientific community, throughout my stay in the U.S. Southern hospitality is alive and well!

Equally as important, it reaffirmed to me the importance of international collaboration in science. Especially at a time when it seems this is under fire. Plant health has to be a collaborative exercise; we trade at a global scale and risk the introduction of harmful pests and diseases daily. I believe international collaboration isn’t idealistic—it’s essential. There is no alternative.

After a four-month fellowship in South Carolina facilitated by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, Nathan Hayes says he gained in-depth experience to put to use in his work as a biosecurity officer in Jersey, in the Channel Islands. “I now have a broader understanding of invasive species management, rooted in both field experience and high-level analysis,” he says. Here, Hayes (right) is joined by Government of Jersey colleauges Alastair Christie (left), senior scientific officer for invasive species, and Adam Dallas Chapman (middle), scientific officer for invasive species. (Photo courtesy of Nathan Hayes)

It’s difficult to put a tangible value on speaking to researchers at a conference or out in the field, and what you learn from doing so. I’m reminded that scientific collaboration takes many forms; it doesn’t always happen in the lab or via email. It happens on your lunch break, in field trucks, and over a cup of coffee. After all, I learned about the fellowship sharing coffee at a conference, and I met my host while having pizza following an expert working group meeting. You don’t know what the future may hold simply by having conversations with people.

Back in Jersey, I now have a broader understanding of invasive species management, rooted in both field experience and high-level analysis. I’m much better equipped to contribute to monitoring programmes, policy development, and to ultimately shape our island’s long-term biosecurity strategy.

If nothing else, a few more people know that there’s an original Jersey, and we’re working just as hard to protect our environment from invasive species.

Nathan Hayes is a senior scientific officer for biosecurity with the Government of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Email: [email protected].