Going green meets going goat in downtown Fredericksburg’s Old Mill Park.
Five goats from The Good Steward Farm in Stafford County will spend the next few weeks chomping down on invasive plant species and unwanted brush in the public green space just off of the Rappahannock River. The eco-friendly arrangement spares the green space chemicals and heavy equipment and also frees up staff from a tedious and unsafe task.
Farm owner Shawn Phillips says that after a year of renting his grazing gang to private landowners in the area, he approached the City of Fredericksburg late last year about assisting with clearing some of the city’s land. The city accepted his offer and assigned his chew crew to the hilly side of Old Mill Park, adjacent to Caroline Street.
A city Facebook post reminded visitors not to feed the goats, as that can interfere with their work and impact their health. There’s also an electric fence and security cameras installed around their work area.
This weekend, they’ll be getting some help: three additional kids, or baby goats, will be doing in to pitch in and chow down.
The Good Steward Farm’s group of goats will be on the job for another 30 days of so, at which point the city will review their progress and make a determination as to whether to continue.
In the mean time, that gives those goats a lot to chew on.
