You can go hang out with goats in Prospect Park right now

 

The goats are back! After a brief respite to allow plants to grow back, they’re back in action. Mary Keehbauch, foreperson of the Alliance’s Natural Resources Crew, oversees the goats and spoke with us about their time together. "It is great to have the goats back to continue their important work," said Mary. What is it like to work with goats? According to Mary this earth-friendly approach has been a learning experience. "Each day the crew (also performing restoration work), first checks the goats, bringing them fresh water and herding them to the area that needs the most grazing. We secure them in the area having learned the hard way that the goats want to be where ever we happen to be working. They treat us as if we are an extension of their group. It’s sweet, really." At the end of the day, the goats are returned to their overnight pen with fresh water and enough forage to last until the morning. The goats are a valuable asset to the restoration efforts of the Prospect Park Alliance, and they might be Prospect Park's most adorable workers. #ProspectPark #prospectparkgoats #goats #brooklyn #summer 📷: @bianca.nelson

A photo posted by prospect_park (@prospect_park) on Aug 18, 2016 at 2:07pm PDT

Summer vacation’s over and it’s time for kids to get back to work.

The herd of goats that took up residency in Prospect Park in May are back after spending the past few months summering in Rhinebeck, New York, poolside with daiquiris in hand. (Okay, that last part isn’t true.)

The goats were originally hired this spring as live weed whackers, brought in to eat the poison ivy and goutweed in the Vale of Cashmere, a northeastern section of the park. They were such voracious eaters, though, the job was done in just six weeks. But since weeds grow like, well, weeds, six of the original herd are back for more damage control.

As they eat, the goats will be fenced in, but visitors are welcome during park hours. And they don’t shy away from people: Mary Keehbauch, who oversees the goats, says they’ve “learned the hard way that the goats want to be wherever we happen to be working. They treat us as if we are an extension of their group.”

There’s no word yet on if they’ve started a turf war with the goats at the Prospect Park Zoo, though.