Nature's Lawnmowers: The Goats That Landscape an EPA Laboratory

The goat-mobile: a converted school bus that carries the herd from job to job. Image from the EPA.

At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's laboratory in Narragansett, Rhode Island, the sounds of summer include bleating. Since 2016 a local organization has brought a team of rescue goats each year, arriving in a colourful "goat-mobile", a painted school bus, to clear the grounds of overgrown and unwanted plants in place of lawnmowers and weed-whackers. In 2024 the crew was 20 goats, of Saanen, Nubian cross, Nigerian Dwarf, Alpine and Kiko breeds, and they visited twice, in June and August.

The "goatscapers" have become favourites with the lab's staff. "The goats have historically provided a valued and environmentally responsible means of keeping the landscape in a 'ship shape' condition," says EPA's Russell Ahlgren. "Plus, our neighbors appreciate the quiet, calming bleats compared to loud lawn equipment!"

Before the goats (left) and after (right). Image from the EPA.

Why goats?

Goats have several advantages over conventional landscaping:

• No fuel and no pesticides. Grazing replaces powered equipment and chemical weed control.
• Rough ground. Goats are expert climbers, reaching tall vines and handling hilly or rocky terrain that mowers cannot.
• They eat almost anything, including invasive plants such as mile-a-minute vine and plants that are harmful to people, such as poison ivy and poison sumac.
• Free fertilizer. They leave droppings that enrich the soil after they are gone.
• Longer-lasting results. Once the overgrowth is cleared, the ground is better suited to native plants and stays in shape longer than after conventional landscaping.

Goatscapers at work on the weeds. Image from the EPA.

Grazing goats can help restore native plants and biodiversity, which in turn can prevent erosion, increase oxygen production and pollination, and reduce carbon dioxide. As the lab's article put it: who knew that improving sustainability could be so cute?

Sources

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Nature's Lawnmowers: How One EPA Facility Uses Goats for Eco-Friendly Landscaping," Science Matters, 2022, updated 2024; rewritten in hubnx's own words. Images from the EPA.