Goats return to Colerain Township Park to graze on invasive species
CINCINNATI (WXIX) - For the second year in a row, goats are strolling around part of the Colerain Park munching on invasive plants and weeds.
Fourteen goats are visiting Colerain Park for the next several weeks to maintain some of the overgrown greenery caused by invasive plants taking over the green space.
“This is pretty much their [goats] favorite thing,” explained Doug Crouch, with Treeyo Permaculture. “Is just to have a fresh patch and have some nice weather like we have today and eat and sit down and chew their cud.”
Crouch says the goats will chew on honeysuckle and weeds that are keeping native plants from growing.
Once the goats have eliminated much of the unwanted plants, new plants like Pawpaw and witch hazel will be able to grow.
“The goats are a great balance between the labor part and the chemical part,” Crouch continues, “We’re organic so we don’t use chemicals. It’s not an immediate boom the plants are gone but it’s a long-term goal of getting park to look a more natural way and have our native species reintroduced.”
Crouch says he encourages people to stop by and watch the goats at work.
“The goats are a great interface to the public because it’s just something that they’re not used to seeing,” Crouch adds, “And then we get to educate people about our native ecosystems. The role of the goats and how they can be a benefit to the ecosystem and there’s just a lot of people that have never seen a goat in their life.”
The goats will be at the park for at least a few weeks but could stay longer if there is more work to be done. They will move to other parts of the park when this area is more maintained.