As a way to celebrate the goats’ arrival, MetroParks and Hamilton Parks Conservancy will host a “Meet the Goats Night” Wednesday, May 21. Community members are welcome to come and go anytime between 6 and 8 p.m. to catch the animals in action.
Apart from the event, people walking Miami Woods Park trails will come across the animals, but they are surrounded by a “very mild” electric fence to keep them contained.
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Twenty-two goats will be in the park at 450 New London Road across from Potter’s Golf Course for the next six weeks as a trial run, though the goat program will probably continue past six weeks, according to Kevin Noonan, assistant director of Hamilton Parks Conservancy.
He said the idea came from brainstorming with Jackie O’Connell, executive director of MetroParks of Butler County.
Rather than traditional methods of invasive plant species control, like deforestation or sending people out to clear by hand, the goats are an environmentally sound, sustainable option.
“Really, in all honesty, it’s just for fun,” Noonan said.
Noonan said the goats essentially walk around and eat, all day.
“There’s very few things they won’t eat,” he said.
Noonan said the goats have a “great purpose” at the park.
“It’s great for the parks,” he said. “We’re doing it in, honestly, probably one of the cleanest ways you can possibly do this. Other than that, it’d be us taking big machines out here, burning fuel...it’s good for the environment and good for the community.”
The goats were sourced from Treeyo Permaculture based out of Petersburg, Ky.
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Honeysuckle, one of the invasive plant species the goats will snack on, grows wild and thick and is not native to Ohio. It umbrellas the ground so native grasses and plants cannot get sunlight.
By clearing honeysuckle out, the goats help create space for native trees, plants and wildflowers to thrive once again.
Other MetroParks, like Meadow Ridge in Madison Twp., are also focused on invasive plant control.
Miami Woods Park is co-managed by MetroParks and Hamilton Parks Conservancy.
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