METHUEN — With hard hooves, tough skin and insatiable appetites, a herd of goats descended on a poison-ivy plagued path outside the Comprehensive Grammar School last week.
Goats from Goats to Go, a service out of Georgetown, munched, trampled and scrapped the edge of the woods near a path regularly used by 3rd and 4th grade students. Mayor D.J. Beauregard said it is one of the city’s more unique strategies to deal with maintenance issues in the district. The idea was first brought up during a meeting of the School Health and Safety Taskforce.
The area is being maintained by the Department of Public Works but the ivy has been difficult to permanently eradicate. During the night the goats slept in a nearby trailer and by day they grazed along the path sectioned off by two sets of fences, including one that was electrified.
Co-owner of Goats to Go Michelle Aulson said not only is it safe for goats to consume more prickly plants, but the goats enjoy the challenge. She said it is good for goats to eat a diverse diet and they tend to have personalities.
When one goat pulls down a branch, all the others usually race to eat it.
Aulson said before modern machinery and pesticides, animals were the most common method for taming wilderness and currently present a solution that doesn’t harm the environment.
She said it was a good time for the goats to attack the poison ivy because it will interfere with the plants preparations for winter, leaving them more vulnerable.
She added that poison ivy, unlike some plants, doesn’t actually need to be taken out by the roots to be killed.
Aulson said Goats to Go and the Great Rock Farm, where they live, host a lot of events involving their herd, which numbers more than 160.
The goats have also presented an opportunity for learning according to Principal Katherine Proietti.
“Kids are inquisitive by nature,” she said.
Proietti said teachers used the goats to explain the ecosystem and the environment’s natural system of checks and balances as well as to learn not to be afraid of nature.
She added students had behaved well around the animals allowing the goats to do their job tackling the poison ivy.
“They like to eat it, and we need to get rid of it,” Proietti said.
Beauregard said the plan is to have the goats return for more visits in June or July for the next few years, at a cost of about $4,000 each session.
He also discussed other steps he plans to take to further improve the aesthetics of the city, including measures to improve aging facades and landscaping around schools.
For more information on Goats to Go visit goatstogo.farm