Goats released in New York City park to eat invasive weeds
Twenty goats from Green Goats farm in Rhinebeck, New York journeyed to Riverside Park in Manhattan to munch on invasive weeds on Wednesday.
It's an environmentally friendly win-win for invasive species removal at Riverside Park - the goats get to feast on overgrown brush and the Riverside Park Conservancy doesn't dump harsh chemicals on weeds and poison ivy. The goats also do the hard work for humans.
"Have you seen this slope over here? I am told it is the steepest river bank east of the Palisades," said John Herrold, interim president & CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy. "Imagine trying to keep your balance while you're pulling out invasive plants so that you can plant native species that will better hold the soil and provide better habitat for the wildlife."
Goats are an ingenious approach to weed removal, harnessing the goat's natural hunger for leafy greens as the primary mechanism behind the task, which traditionally involves pollutant chemicals. They even eat species dangerous to humans, like poison ivy.
"They love this stuff," said Herrold. "They eat poison ivy, they eat the porcelain berry, they eat the multiflora rose and that's what we're trying to get rid of."
Of the 20 goats, four will call Riverside Park its home through the end of summer, eating their way through two acres of the park.
