Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Don't let this get your goat!



Don't be surprised by the sight of goats if you happen to be biking or jogging past Stuyvesant Cove Park in the days ahead.



Solar One, the environmental nonprofit that manages Stuyvesant Cove Park on the East River between 18th Street and 23rd Street, came up with a unique way to combat the overgrown weeds in the green space... 20 goats from Green Goats of Rhinebeck arrived today to eat all they want within a fenced-in area in the Park.

EVG readers Louise & Danny shared the photos in this post today.

Here's more via Solar One:

New York City's parks are proving to be yet another unwitting victim of the pandemic crisis. Short staffing, budget cuts, and reduced volunteer opportunities have left many of our green spaces to their own devices, and the weeds have been having a (literal) hay day.

Compounding the issue is the fact that as New York residents have needfully turned to parks as safe outlets for socialization and recreation, they have also, sadly, left excessive trash and trampled plantings in their wake.

"It’s just a lot for our two person team to handle," says Candace Thompson, the manager of Stuyvesant Cove Park. "Mother Nature really got the jump on us with the weeds this spring and I feel like we’ll never catch up on top of everything else."

Which is why that particular park has decided to hire some help of the non-human variety. ... During their tenure, the goats will be charged with a simple task: eat everything in sight.

Solar One ... hopes this will assist park staff in minimizing excessive plant biomass while also fertilizing the soil for next season, all in just a few short days. While goats may seem an unorthodox fix to a weed problem, foraging animals have long been used in sustainable agricultural practices to manage overabundant species, and Green Goats in particular have been lending their services to public spaces and institutions across the greater New York area for over 15 years.





One thing — beware of petting the goats...



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Baaaa....Humbug!

Sarah said...

I believe these are the same goats that were in Riverside Park last year? They were very popular and got the job done in record time.

When they're done, let's bring them down to the East River Park!

derek berg said...

Love this!

noble neolani said...

love this but please put a "don't eat the goats" sign as well.

Runner in Denial said...

Is Chalupa one of the goats?

Anonymous said...

Ha that is a good idea and I hope they bring them to the East River Park next which is overgrown with weeds and would provide the goats with plenty to eat.

Anonymous said...

farm-to-table:
goat cheese
goat milk
Caribbean goat stew
...

Taking the farm--to-table trend literally...

Or maybe a new mode of ride-sharing transportation -- CitiGoat!

Anonymous said...

By late afternoon, the crowd had significantly grown in size. It was a zoo there...

Anonymous said...

NYC truly is going to the goats!

Anonymous said...

How Fabulous !

Giovanni said...

The signs tell people not to pet the goats since they like to eat eat poison ivy and it gets on their fur. People were petting them anyway.

Anonymous said...

Cool. Can't wait to see them, never seen a goat with a contact high.

Anonymous said...

are they gone already? rumors are they weren't there today but not sure if they were just under cover from the rain or if they finished the job so quickly...