Herd of Goats Tackles Invasive Species in Prospect Park

The goats clear everything from poison ivy to mugwort in an environmentally friendly way

A herd of goats is helping Prospect Park recover from damage it sustained nearly four years ago in Sandy.

The Prospect Park Alliance brought the goats to Brooklyn’s second largest park to help clear invasive plant species. Invasive weeds and ivies spread rapidly after Sandy knocked down hundreds of native trees in the park back in the fall of 2012. 

The goats clear everything from poison ivy to mugwort in an environmentally friendly way, volunteers say. 

“It’s a non-chemical, so it’s a green method. You’re not putting people in Tyvek suits, spraying chemicals to kill things, you’re letting the goats do what they do naturally,” said Christian Zimmerman, the Vice President of Capital and Landscape Management at the Prospect Park Alliance. 

The critters, which have quickly become popular with tourists, will be on the job in Prospect Park through October of this year.

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