It appears a group of popular visitors will be back in Edmonton parks this year.
The GoatWorks pilot project is returning to Edmonton for another year.
The city has released a job posting for a coordinator who will implement and evaluate the program.
READ MORE: Meet Edmonton’s weed-eating goats at Rundle Park
Last year, a herd of 170 goats were assigned to the job of getting rid of noxious weeds in Rundle Park.
The goats were in the park intermittently until September. Their job was to chow down on Canada thistle, leafy spurge, common tansy, common burdock, yellow toadflax and dandelions, while under the watch of a skilled shepherd and several herding horses and dogs.
The goat coordinator is a temporary full-time position for up to 11 months with an hourly pay of up to $43, according to the job posting.
The unique job posting garnered plenty of online attention.
READ MORE: They don’t wear reflective vests or ear protection, but goats will take care of Edmonton’s weeds
The pilot program was made possible through a contract with Jeannette Hall, owner and shepherd of Baah’d Plant Management.
Hall said goats see the weeds as something special.
“They’re actually browsers. So they naturally prefer broad leaf plants and seeds and bark over grass, so that’s wonderful,” she said.
“We just kind of utilize that. And what we do is target browse. We aren’t just sending them in grazing an area. We are using our dogs and our horses and ourselves to herd the goats and keep them on specific weeds.”
Goats can eat about 10 lbs of weeds per day.
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