A herd of 50 goats is grazing a section of the Don Valley Brick Works Park in Toronto as part of an eco-friendly city project. The goats are munching on invasive and woody plants to allow native species to grow. Cheryl Post is a natural environment specialist with the city of Toronto. She says they are hoping to build off of last year’s positive pilot project.
“The goats are good at invasive species management, reduction of woody encroachment. They improve soil quality and are really just an overall benefit to the meadow.”
Goats in the City president Ian Matthews says it’s not a tough job for the goats.
“The goats are just doing what they do normally, right. We don’t do any special training. What we really do at Goats in the City is to observe goats, know what they prefer, know what they like. And then apply that to the kind of plants that we want to get rid of.”
The goats also drew visitors to the park as it offered educational tours about the animals’ strategic grazing.
If all goes well, city staff say the project will continue in the coming years.
(The Canadian Press)
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