Though the goats installed at Irwin Park did well in their first summer of chewing up invasive plants, the animals appear to have been pulled from their work just a little too soon, officials said.
The goats taking a well-deserved rest in the midday sun. Credit: Olivia Oldham.
The five goats who arrived at Irwin in July under a town-approved contract went to work immediately on the invasives and especially Japanese Knotweed, which had grown so high it encroached on the Flexi-pave path at the western end of the park, officials said.
“There is a lot of knotweed that came back, a lot of stuff was growing again,” Parks Superintendent John Howe said during the Oct. 16 meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission, held at Lapham Community Center. “I think they pulled them a little bit early.”
The Board of Selectmen in June approved a $10,200 contract with Rhinebeck, N.Y.-based Green Goats to have the goats work at Irwin this year, with funds provided by the New Canaan Garden Club. The estimated costs for the second and third years are $5,385 per year, officials have said.
Members of the Garden Club in bringing the idea forward said they hoped using goats would serve as an environmentally sustainable solution to the problem of invasive species at Irwin Park and possibly even bring more foot traffic.
Five goats—Chalupa, Beau, Stewie, Miss Bo Peep and Bella—arrived at their half-acre paddock in early July and they did well. They were removed Sept. 23 due to lack of available feed just prior to a window of good weather, according to Public Works officials.
“They made progress,” Howe said. “The hard part is knocking everything down, but will it stay down? The knotweed is as high as a table already. It all popped right back. That’s why I don’t know if the two years is feasible or not.”
Commissioner Gene Goodman asked whether it would make sense to reduce the number of goats in the paddock as available food sources there diminish. Howe said that’s just what happened as two goats were removed partway through the summer.
Commissioner Laura Costigan said she phoned the Garden Club when she saw fewer goats in the paddock, thinking one of them had escaped.
Howe said that one of the goats did, in fact, escape the paddock this summer, but didn’t travel far.
“It went right next to the fence, just finding better food,” he said.
Public Works officials mowed back the regrown knotweed, Howe said.
The New Canaan Garden Club enjoyed bringing these special goats to our town to do the important job of eating many invasive plants including the Japanese knotweed and weakening their root systems. At the advice of the goats’ owner, Green Goats Farm, the animals were removed in late September as the amount of vegetation remaining for the goats was not sufficient enough to maintain them. Regrowth was expected as this is a multi-year project to eradicate the weeds. We are eagerly looking forward to welcoming the goats back to continue their job in the spring.
It is important to note that New Canaan Garden Club fully funded this project for this year and next year through the generosity of a number of donors. A third year is anticipated and we are working on the funding. If you would like to support this effort of finding an herbicide-free way to manage the invasive weeds in Irwin Park, any contribution will be appreciatively accepted by the Garden Club. Online donations can be made at http://www.ncgardenclub.org, please mention “Goat Initiative“ in your contribution. Checks can be mailed to New Canaan Garden Club, PO Box 1553, New Canaan, CT 06840. All contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
The goats are back home for the winter on a well-deserved vacation. If you are missing your favorite goat, you can continue to follow them on Facebook at Green Goats Rhinebeck!
The New Canaan Garden Club greatly appreciates the community support in caring for these wonderful animals. We look forward to continuing this important project next spring.
Sincerely,
Lauren Bromberg and Anda Hutchins
Co-Presidents
New Canaan Garden Club