To Tackle an Invasive Weed, Bringing In the Hooved Pros

[Staff]

To Tackle an Invasive Weed, Bringing In the Hooved Pros
By LISA W. FODERARO
Published: June 21, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/ny...pecies+News%29
excerpt from above:

On a sweltering afternoon on Staten Island, the New York City parks department unveiled its latest weapon in the war on phragmites, an invasive weed that chokes the shoreline: goats. Twenty Anglo-Nubians, to be exact. With names like Mozart, Haydn and Van Goat, and with floppy ears and plaintive bleats, they did not seem fearsome. But on Thursday they were already munching inexorably through the long pale leaves in the first phase of a wetland restoration at what will soon be Freshkills Park.

Known for their unending, indiscriminate appetites, the goats are being rented by the city for the next six weeks from a farmer in the Hudson Valley. Parks officials are counting on the goats to clear the phragmites across two acres of wetlands that will eventually be cultivated with native grasses like spartina and black needle rush. The hope is...

[sprucetree]

What a great project, Turning a landfill into a Native Park everyone can enjoy. Years ago they built battery park in a similar way, Back then they used mostly construction debris and fill dirt from basements. A lot of NYC debris was sent out on barges where the garbage and rats were dumped in the Atlantic.

Freshkill park sounds much bigger, If they implement goats/sheep maybe they can make honey too, It sure would be great if they could incorporate inmates/homeless in the scheme of things.

If we want to make a shift from Corporate agriculture to growing more healthy local foods that's going to take land and labor. We need to put the quarterly profit sheet aside and make a big shift in our thinking and the people we vote into office, Even if 1 state could use public land worked by Inmates/Homeless and Students it would be noticed by other groups and would spread nationwide.

It could be voluntary, Certainly there's people that wouldn't be suitable but allowing people to self-medicate or throwing them in a cage is costing us all. Let's face it we have nearly cut off a large part of our citizens from nature, Even though a student couldn't pay off their student debt they'll learn about eating properly at least and avoid the fast food drive-thru.