Hello from Giresun, the city of hazelnuts! I am Bensu Kurtay, a Sociology master’s student at Middle East Technical University (METU).

As an Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY), I’ve had the chance to join easyPEST – “Establishing long-term monitoring system for plant pests around the Black Sea”, a project funded by the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme. The project was officially launched with a clear and important goal: to build a long-term monitoring system for plant pests around the Black Sea region.

easyPEST combines artificial intelligence and citizen science to detect invasive plant pests early, before they can cause serious damage. By encouraging cross-border cooperation, the project aims to protect forests, secure agricultural production, and preserve biodiversity across the Black Sea Basin.

The project is led by the Giresun Governorship (Turkey), together with partners from Greece and Georgia: Trabzon University, the Hellenic Agricultural Organization – DIMITRA (HAO-DIMITRA), and Ilia State University. This international mix means constant exchange of knowledge, methods, and experience between institutions with different backgrounds but a shared goal.

Through this volunteering experience, I’ve been supporting the project’s reporting tasks, as well as visual and design work — helping with the website and social media presence. It’s been an interesting way to connect my academic background with an environmental, science-driven project like this one.

And now comes the most exciting part of my volunteering: soon I’ll be heading up into the mountains of the Black Sea region together with expert biologists and entomologists, to take part in the actual pest-monitoring fieldwork!

P.S. Thanks to IVY, I had the chance to come to Giresun for the first time, and I fell in love with the nature here. If you ever get the chance, please visit the Black Sea Region!

I’m looking forward to sharing more about this hands-on experience soon.