Although the adorable sheep of Governors Island are retiring after this summer, Riverside Park’s goats are baaaack and better than ever!
Goatham, an annual ecological initiative that brings in a herd of goats to handle invasive plant species in Riverside Park, is returning on Saturday, July 12th. For the first time ever, Goatham will host “The Great Goat Graze-Off,” a professional eating competition between the goats.
If watching five adorable goats compete in an eating competition isn’t enticing enough, Nice Brass, a New Orleans-style brass band, will bring the tunes to have you toe-tapping throughout the event.
This year’s herd includes five goats: Kash, Rufus, Mallomar, Romeo, and Butterball. Both Romeo and Mallomar are Riverside returnees, as Kash, once a lone goat on a horse farm, Butterball and Rufus will be joining the veterans in filling their bellies with the Park’s unwanted plants.
Since the initiative began five summers ago, the goats have cleared the slopes at 120th Street to make way for native understory and trees. Last summer, the goats were focused on removing the poison ivy (don’t worry, goats are unharmed by the plant) and other invasive vegetation from West 143rd Street. This year’s herd will continue last season’s work at West 143rd to make way for more resources, maintenance and programming for the uptown section of the park.
Goatham expands on the Riverside Park Conservancy’s Woodland Restoration Initiative, which has spent the past 15 years focused on controlling invasive species. However, the park’s many slopes make dealing with the invasive plants such as Porcelain Berry, English Ivy, Mugwort, Multiflora Rose and Poison Ivy a difficult task. Goats, however, are particularly skilled in navigating the tricky terrain and make for a fabulous “full-time professional weeding staff.”
Fun fact: goats can eat 25% of their own body weight in plants in just a day’s time. Thus, goats—and their large appetites—offer a wonderful solution to suppress Riverside Park’s invasive plant population. Additionally, goats fecal matter brings nutrients into the surrounding soil.
Be a part of this sustainable and chemical-free alternative by learning more on Riverside Park’s website.
🗓️ Saturday, July 12th from 11am – 1:30pm (rain date: July 19th)
📍West Harlem on the lawn north of Ten Mile Playground, at West 151st Street and the West Side Highway