For the second time this summer, a herd of goats will spend a day grazing in Sharp Hill Park.
According to Dan Giercke, president of the Sharp Hill Preservation Society (SHPS), Baah'd Plant Management (BPM) will have its herd of roughly 550 goats at the park July 23 from 4 to 7 p.m. in an effort to eradicate invasive weeds in the area. While the herd is on-site, people will be able to stop by for a meet and greet, where they can learn about SHPS's ongoing preservation efforts.
“That will give us the opportunity to invite the [Sharp Hill] community and the larger community around us out to come see the goats, learn more about that program and hopefully come and see the park space,” Giercke said. “I know there’s a lot of people who don’t know that park is there."
Sharp Hill Park is a 22-acre green space located in Rocky View County, just southeast of Airdrie city limits. Members of the acreage community surrounding the park formed SHPS in 2009, with the focus of preserving the area’s natural state.
Over the years, the society has fundraised to add amenities on the west side of the park, including tree beds, a perimeter fence, picnic tables and benches. SHPS was also responsible for installing a replica of a stagecoach and four interpretive signs that tell stories about the area’s history.
"There’s lots of good historical info on the signs in the park and it’s a nice place for people to come walk and enjoy the scenery,” Giercke said.
“We’re still continuing to maintain the park space, mowing pathways through the east property walking paths and establishing some tree beds, native plants, grasses and wildflowers in that area, too."
SHPS members will be selling birdhouses at the meet and greet to fundraise for future projects.
“One of the local residents in Sharp Hill builds birdhouses as a hobby,” Giercke said. “We’ll make them available to people – kids can paint them if they want, and either put them in the park or take them home.”
According to BPM owner Jeannette Hall, attendees are encouraged to bring any native species of plants or bushes they have growing in their yard, which will be replanted in Sharp Hill Park’s mulch bed.
“We’re looking for things like wild rose, currant, gooseberry...lots of willows, alder – all that kind of stuff,” Hall said.
SHPS first retained BPM in August 2019 to address a thistle problem that emerged near a creek bed in the park. According to Giercke, the goats were an ideal solution, as the creek bed is in a watershed area where pesticides are not permitted.
This year, Hall said, the size of the goat herd used in the park has increased, with a flock of more than 500 set to graze July 23. Last year, only around 30 goats were used.
According to Hall – who is an environmental consultant and shepherd – there are many benefits to using goats for organic weed control. She said they are able to tackle areas other weed-management methods cannot.
Goats also do a lot more than just eat the weeds, she added, as they help the biodiversity of an area.
“They’re revitalizing a lot of the soil and trampling down the overburden or what we call the fire load, which are the dead grasses,” she said. “They’re mimicking what would have naturally happened on their landscapes, which would have been large migrating herds of grazing animals or fire coming through.”
Following the July 23 meet and greet, Hall said the goats will return for another round of grazing in the fall.
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
