While the Conservancy has become well known for using goats to help control invasive plants in the Park over the last six years, this year marks the first time the goats participated in a professional eating competition to celebrate their arrival in the park. The contest was officiated in an epic fashion by George Shea of “Major League Eating” and the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest fame!
Romeo
Returning to Riverside Park for his third stint, Romeo is your forever best friend. He wants your hugs and a snuggle at night. He knows he can’t solve all the world’s troubles, but he’ll be by your side through it all.
Mallomar
Mallomar, a staple in the Riverside Park herd year after year, is unwavering in his loyalty and courage. He might not be the loudest of the bunch, but his calm, steadfast nature provides security for those surrounding him who know he will always have their back.
Butterball
Butterball lives for sparkles and all things glitz and glamour. Don’t let her penchant for flash deceive you, though – her heart is pure gold, and she can win over the most hardened of New Yorkers with her good nature and easy way with others.
Kash
Kash, a cashmere goat with long, flowing locks, proudly has the longest horns of all of the goats at the Green Goats farm. Always one to prance to the beat of his own drum, he was once the lone goat living on a horse farm, and you can still find him trotting about, showing off his handsome features with panache.
Rufus
Rufus is the epitome of regal: she’s big, strong, and full of charm and wit. Classy and not too brassy, others look up to her both as their benevolent leader and as a consummate host, always eager to organize a themed luncheon for her fellow chompers.
Over the past five summers, the goats have successfully cleared the slopes at 120th Street, allowing the human staff to install native understory and large trees, protecting the mature tree canopy. This past summer, the hard-working goats were assigned a new job site at West 143rd Street, where they munched on poison ivy and other invasive plants. Preparations for this site, including a new goat enclosure, were possible thanks to the support of Amazon, Con Ed, and a generous anonymous neighbor.
The goats’ new location at the West 143rd Street slope aligns with the Conservancy’s North Park Initiative, which focuses on bringing more resources, maintenance, and programming to the uptown sections of the Park. In order to ensure all neighbors can enjoy quality parkland, the Conservancy has made strides to address the years of neglect and disinvestment in these areas, efforts which include the addition of new public programming at the natural shoreline at 145th Street and new outdoor exercise equipment at 151st Street in partnership with Outletics.
As part of our Woodland Restoration Initiative, Riverside Park Conservancy has spent countless hours of volunteer and staff time over the last 15 years to control invasive species.
Unfortunately, it has been difficult to make progress in areas with steep slopes. Some of the species of plants that have proven most difficult to control are Porcelain Berry, English Ivy, Mugwort, Multiflora Rose and Poison Ivy, among several other species. These plants and vines have dominated two acres of the degraded woodland that we are working to improve.
Riverside Park’s goats are like a herd of full-time professional weeding staff. They are able to traverse difficult, hard-to-reach places, and can also gulp down poison ivy without a second thought. This frees up human hands — and significant portions of time — to work on other components of restoration.
Goats and their giant appetites have been widely used by farmers, and recently, by nearby parks to assist in controlling and suppressing the growth of these detrimental invasive plants. Not only do goats eat almost constantly — they can consume 25% of their own body weight in vegetation in just one day — but their fecal matter adds nutrients to the soil as they go. It’s an all around win — a sustainable, chemical-free method of removing invasive species from a landscape.
Throughout the season, the goats continuously consume the weeds all the way down to the roots, which stunts the plants’ normal growth trajectory by making them start all over — only to be eaten again. After a few seasons of eating, the plants’ ability to grow will have been weakened, and perhaps eliminated altogether.
Please contact us for ways to get involved.
