Menu

Topics

Connect

Comments

Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.

Want to be a goat coordinator? Here’s your chance

Goats are being used at Rundle Park in Edmonton to combat noxious weeds. Global News

It appears a group of popular visitors will be back in Edmonton parks this year.

Story continues below advertisement

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.

Story continues below advertisement

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.”

Story continues below advertisement

Goats can eat about 10 lbs of weeds per day.

Advertisement

You are viewing an Accelerated Mobile Webpage.

View Original Article