The Village Garden Club of Sewickley has initiated a new conservation project to study the impact deer are having on local forests.

Working together with others in the community who share a similar interest, the club is funding the construction of deer exclosures at Sewickley Heights Borough Park.

Educational information about deer exclosures and their purpose will be avaiable at the sites.

The first exclosure went up in late November on the Waterfall Trail in the park. Residents can visit the park to view the project.

A deer exclosure is a fenced-in area where deer cannot eat foliage. The exclosure at the park is 8 feet tall and measures 25 feet by 25 feet.

The site includes several species of plants, including mountain laurel, maple leaf viburnum and many small trees that typically are unable to grow to maturity because of the deer population's constant foraging. The project is designed to help save native shrubs and trees and educate residents about the loss of the local forest habitat.

Early last fall, wildlife conservation officer Gary Fujak spoke about deer exclosures at a garden club meeting.

His talk generated so much enthusiasm, club members decided to launch the deer exclosure project. Conservation chairwo-man Sally Davis and Susie Moffett, horticulture chairwoman, are leading the project for the garden club. Fujak, in the company of Thad Jones, Sewickley Heights Borough park ranger, and April Claus, Fern Hollow Nature Center naturalist, organized a construction team of Quaker Valley High School science students, who provided the labor.

Bill Dress, an assistant professor of science at Robert Morris University, and his students will conduct research on how long it takes plants to re-grow in the enclosed area and will share the results of the research with the community.