Are those goats mowing the lawn?
If you see goats chomping their way around an overgrown stretch of unused Druid Hill Park today, don't worry, they're the hired help.
The Parks & People Foundation brought 40 of them to the Auchentoroly Terrace site at the park to help clear overgrown vegetation and invasive species.
The effort is part of a $10 million project to put the 9-acre parcel and an old mansion back into use. The foundation will eventually use the property as its headquarters, but much of the space will be used for community events. They will also create trails and connect the space to the rest of Druid Hill Park.
The goats have been feeding for two days to make way for construction crews to get near the mansion. They will come back to do the rest of the land at some point.
If you are wondering more about these creatures:
+a herd of 30 goats can eat up to a quarter acre of vegetation a day
+they eat all kinds of poisonous and invasive species of plants including poison ivy
+they can reach vegetation up to six feet off the ground
+the droppings provide natural fertilizer
+they eat brush and not grass
+they have four-chambered stomachs and special enzymes which allow them to digest plants
+these particular goats are a mix of Boer and Spanish species
Supplying the goats was Eco-Goats, a Davidsonville-based company specializing in “environmentally friendly vegetation control."
I have to say, they do nice work. And they're pretty cute, too.
Baltimore Sun photo/Meredith Cohn
Comments
Awesome. is this the same goat program used in Carroll County around the new bypass?
Posted by: GlenW | October 9, 2009 2:03 PM
Well, my first reaction was awwwwwww, because goats are pretty damn cute. My second reaction was right on, not only does it help the land to have animals graze on it, it actually causes so much extra growth that the ground sequesters co2. Its enough to counteract the co2 emitted by the animal.
Plus, goats are awesome, and I'd love to run into one walking my dog in a park.
Posted by: Iandanger | October 9, 2009 2:15 PM
I love this idea! The town where I live in Virginia either lets things grow or uses huge chemical sprayers to kill weeds etc. I've always said they should use goats. Glad to know someone is.
Posted by: Robin | October 9, 2009 3:02 PM
Sorry to be a downer, but this isn't the safest area of town. How are they protecting the goats, especially in the evenings?
Posted by: Renee | October 9, 2009 5:09 PM
I saw goats used for the first time when I lived in San Francisco back in the 1970's and thought it was a great idea. No use of oil except to transport from the farm, built in fertilizer dispenser, little air pollution . . . and a Navy mascot and siblings doing the deed.
Posted by: ron in Hagersbush | October 12, 2009 8:37 AM
Great idea!! Now the dog owners who don't clean up behind their pets need to step up in keeping the park clean. Thank you to the dog owners who clean up behind their pets.
Posted by: Smitty | October 12, 2009 9:39 PM