by: Angela Case
Posted: Oct 13, 2017 | 02:56 PM MDT
This story has been updated to indicate the goats will arrive Sunday, October 22.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A herd of 400 to 500 weed-eating cashmere goats will return to Bear Creek Regional Park next week.
The goats are scheduled to arrive Sunday and will work in the park for 10 days, eating brush and weeds to perform organic weed control in the 20 acres of the park surrounding Charmaine Nymann Community Garden. In addition to eating two to three tons of weeds a day, the goats aerate and mulch the soil with their hooves.
The parks department is asking visitors to keep their dogs on leashes while the goats are in the park. There have been altercations between uncontrolled dogs and goats in the past.
The nonprofit Bear Creek Garden Association raises $7,000 to $10,000 each year to pay for the services provided by the goat herd, which is managed by Goat Green co-owners Lani Malmberg and Donny Benz. Donations to the cause can be sent to the Bear Creek Garden Association Goat Fund, P.O. Box 38326, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80937.
