Way to Go! Oceanside student targets green flies at preserve

An Oceanside High School student’s recent project at a local preserve has gotten lots of buzz.

James Pisani, a sophomore, coordinated the construction of four traps for green flies last year at the 40-acre Lido Beach Passive Nature Area. The plywood traps — which are 3-by-2-foot boxes that stand four feet off the ground — have screens on the bottom through which the flies are supposed to “fly up into and get stuck,” he said.

Pisani, a Boy Scout, pursued the project as part of his Eagle Scout Award, the highest achievement attainable within the Boy Scouts of America. He is a member of Troop 230 and was recognized for his achievement during a Court of Honor in December.

“The flies are really invasive and big, and there’s a lot of them,” said Pisani, who worked on the traps over the course of six months with help from his fellow troop members. “I’m not a fan of green flies, so I thought it was a good project to do.”

To get the idea for the project, Pisani reached out to the preserve’s representatives and discussed different possibilities before settling on the fly traps. He raised funds to purchase materials through an agreement in which he received a portion of the profits on a given day from every sale in which a customer mentioned his name at Bonbino’s Pizza in Oceanside.

Pisani, 16, is also a member of his school’s swim team.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.