Brooklyn Bridge Park is an organic park, which means no chemicals can be used to kill the weeds that will otherwise choke out the grass. For the next two months a herd of four Nubian goats will be climbing along the berm at the Pier 3 uplands, each eating about 50 pounds of weeds a day, hopefully clearing the landscape of weed growth in an ecologically friendly way.
The goats—four brothers named Horatio, Eyebrows, Minnie and Hector— are also uniquely capable of working on the berm’s steep incline, terrain that would make it very difficult for humans or machinery to access. The goal is that the goats eat the weeds on the berm and not the grass (or at least significantly more weed than grass).
According to Rebecca McMackin, Director of Horticulture, Brooklyn Bridge Park, if this pilot project is successful it may be expanded further down the berm, with more goats possibly added to the herd.
Photos by Christian Hansen for the Village Voice
