Early yesterday afternoon, a herd of twenty-six goats arrived at Agnes Scott College’s Grant Park Greenspace to begin their ten-day task of eating away invasive plants species which have overtaken the forest landscape.
Brought to campus as a partnership between the College’s Center for Sustainability and local nonprofit Trees Atlanta, the goats will devour an average of ten pounds of greenery a day in order to open up space for native plants to grow. Supplied by Get Your Goat Rentals, the goats are a fantastic brush-clearing method which avoids the use of heavy chemicals or machinery. The hooved and horned (some of them even have little beards) animals will munch away at the greenery, leaving natural fertilizer behind.
Over the course of their stay, they are expected to clear the 3-acre plot of unwanted species such as Kudzu, English ivy and Chinese privet. Because the area is so densely covered by these invasive plants, the profile of native plants species of the greenspace is unclear. Once the area is clear of troublesome plants, others will have room to grow and spread when they begin regrowth in the Spring, allowing for their identification.
Just hours after their arrival, excited Center for Sustainability employees and College faculty and staff could be spotted trekking to the site to get a glimpse of the much-anticipated visitors. A few neighborhood children also took advantage of the opportunity to get up to a bit of mischief and could be seen trying to sneak their way into the gate, to no apparent success.
While some Grant Park residents have expressed concern about observing an increase in daylight coyote sightings in the surrounding neighborhood, the herd is protected by two livestock guardian dogs. The dogs work in pairs to protect the herd from coyotes, snakes and other potential dangers.
Ecologist and Assistant Professor of Biology at Agnes Scott, Dr. Iris Levin is taking full advantage of the opportunity to observe the ecological change in the greenspace environment. Under her leadership, her Ecology class will be performing research over the course of the semester using data collected from the area before, during, and after the herd’s work. She’s excited at the prospect of determining long-term results of this project. “Not a lot of people actually document this stuff,” explains Dr. Levin. “They say, ‘This works!’ and ‘We can see the difference,’ but we are actually putting the numbers on it.”
Members of the public may see the goats at any time during their stay, but Trees Atlanta will host an on-site Goat Meet and Greet on Saturday, January 27th during which visitors will have a chance to learn more about the herd’s purpose and why they are so important in upkeeping healthy urban forests.
All images property of Elizabeth Wolfe / Her Campus