Mianus River Gorge Development of Post-Agricultural Forest Restoration Strategies Program completed an initiative to prevent local deer populations from inhibiting ecological growth in the Greenwich woodlands this past fall. In response to the study, Sacred Heart Greenwich Science Research Students analyzed the cause of the recent growth in the deer population on both the Sacred Heart Greenwich campus and the Mianus River Gorge, a 755-acre nature preserve located in Bedford, New York.
Upper School Science Teacher Ms. Mary Musolino and juniors Bridget Murphy and Madison Day collaborated with the Director of Research and Land Management of the Mianus River Gorge Dr. Chris Nagy. 
Dr. Nagy, as well as Executive Director Mr. Rod Christie, Director of Research and Land Management Mr. Mark Weckel, and Westchester County Wildlife Curator Mr. Dan Aitchison are Mianus River Gorge personnel and partners in the Development of Post-Agricultural Forest Restoration Strategies Program. This program takes a particular interest in the deer population and how it affects tree, shrub, and wildflower species in the Mianus River Gorge. This group formed after many native herbaceous and shrub species became rare or completely eliminated from the Mianus River Gorge, according to mianus.org. 

In an effort to further investigate the influence of the deer population on local vegetation, the Mianus River Gorge Development of Post-Agricultural Forest Restoration Strategies Program team used a combination of techniques, including long-range radio-frequency identification (RFID) and camera traps, according to mianus.org.
To determine the current the deer population, the group used the Mark-Recapture Study. In this study, the Development of Post-Agricultural Forest Restoration Strategies Program tagged individual deer with a unique, color-coded ear tag that is embedded with a RFID chip. As a result of the study, scientists concluded which deer are native and which are new to the area. This permitted the Mianus River Gorge Development of Post-Agricultural Forest Restoration Strategies Program team to determine the increase in the deer population size in the Mianus River Gorge since 2004, according to mianus.org.
The purpose of this study was to combine deer management efforts with vegetal methods to design a plan to increase vegetational growth. A 20 percent reduction in deer densities would allow for the regrowth of tree, shrub, and wildflower species in the Mianus River Gorge, according to mianus.org. 
“My goal is to uncover patterns in deer social structure, estimate population size and growth, and ultimately, evaluate if localized management of deer populations in suburbia can bring about a return to vigorous growth of vegetation,” Mianus River Gorge Photographer Mr. William Abranowicz said, according to minus.org.
The collected data demonstrated that the increase in deer results from a lack of top predators. The increasing population of deer is limiting the growth of native wildflowers, slow-growing trees, and native shrubs, according to mianus.org.
After learning about the Mianus River Gorge Deer Management Program and receiving its data from Dr. Nagy, the Science Research class at Sacred Heart decided to conduct their own experiment. Ms. Musolino, Bridget, and Madison set up a camera on Sacred Heart’s campus November 14 and left it to record overnight. The class observed animals who ventured onto the Sacred Heart campus, including deer, raccoons, coyotes, turkeys, and squirrels.
With this data, they compared the animal population at Sacred Heart to the animal population at the Mianus River Gorge. The class found that the data was consistent and showed that the same animals lived at Sacred Heart and the Mianus River Gorge.
“The research about the species at the Mianus River Gorge that affect the growth of plants indigenous to the area proved identical to the research collected by our cameras on the Sacred Heart campus,” Madison said.
– Elisabeth Hall, News and Photo Editor