An Atlanta synagogue has turned to an oft-maligned creature to get its property into shape.
Thirty goats were delivered to Ahavath Achim Synagogue on Monday and charged with the presumably enjoyable task of “munching their way through several acres of English ivy and underbrush,” said Stephanie Stone in an emailed statement from the synagogue.
It is a tactic that has gained some favor around metro Atlanta as an environmentally friendly way to clear private and public overgrown land. The critters are favored for their reputation as ravenous eaters of whatever they find edible in short order.
“We couldn’t be more pleased,” said Manuel Mesa, executive director of the synagogue on Peachtree Battle Avenue. “This is, by far, the cleanest, safest, most efficient and most cost-effective method to clear overgrown spaces. We have been amazed at how much progress the goats are making and how quickly they are making it.”
Goats have been used to clear property from Grant Park to Buford Dam in recent years. A few years ago they took part in an academic project at the University of Georgia when they were used to clear a section along Tanyard Creek.
In the Ahavath Achim case, the goats are being put to work on a steep ravine on the southeast corner of the property. A temporary enclosure stops them from wondering off.
Goats “thrive on poison ivy, poison oak, Kudzu, blackberries, vines and briers - the type of vegetation that ordinarily requires heavy machinery or toxic chemicals to manage … and they leave behind natural fertilizer, ” Stone said.
The goats are scheduled to finish feasting and fertilizing by Friday.
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