Goatscaping coming to North Campus

Fresh off Wednesday’s historic visit to campus by a sitting vice president of the United States, UB is about to welcome another guest that’s likely to generate some enthusiasm: goats!

UB Sustainability and UB Facilities have partnered with the Orchard Park-based company Let’s Goat Buffalo to provide goat grazing services in support of invasive plant clearing efforts on the North Campus.

A small herd of about seven goats will be on campus Sept. 19-30, focusing on an area along Bizer Creek near the Statler Commissary, Crofts Hall and the Center for Tomorrow parking lot.

“We thought this was a great, sustainable and also fun way to manage invasive species while supporting a local company,” says Erin Moscati, sustainability education manager at UB, adding that people are welcome and encouraged to watch the goats work. “It’s not going to impact the goats too much if people are watching,” she says.

The best way to catch the goats in action would be to park in the Center for Tomorrow lot and head across the pedestrian bridge that crosses over Bizer Creek. Some of the goats may also be visible from Audubon Parkway, and campus officials remind motorists to be safe and not pull their cars over on Audubon to watch, or honk at the goats.

Goatscaping is a popular method that has been effective in large municipalities — and on college campuses — across the U.S., including Seattle, Chicago and Pittsburgh, and is both environmentally and financially sustainable, according to Let’s Goat Buffalo CEO Jennifer Zeitler.

It involves the use of goats to manage invasive or problematic vegetation growth in an environmentally friendly way that doesn’t use any pollutants or cause damage to existing ecosystems. Goats do not disturb the habitats of native bees, turtles, birds and other species of wildlife.

When goats eat, Zeitler explains, they sterilize seeds and plant material during a unique digestive process, which greatly reduces the re-growth cycle of invasive plants.

Zeitler will give a presentation to students on goatscaping on Sept. 23 — as part of Climate Week at UB — at the GRoW Clean Energy Center near the Solar Strand, and will give another informational workshop at GRoW from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 28 Registration for the Sept. 28 session is available online.

The goats will be used to clear invasive plants, specifically Japanese honeysuckle, multiflora rose and teasel, as well as targeting general overgrowth on the North Campus. Goats also love to eat poison ivy and other stubborn invasive plants that are harmful to humans.

The initial idea was put forth by Stacey Modicamore, assistant director of buildings and grounds, while researching more environmentally friendly ways to tackle the invasive vegetation that was encroaching on the natural area around the solar panels at the UB Solar Strand. The idea was well-received by Tonga Pham, associate vice president for university facilities, who was immediately supportive of bringing the goats to campus.

Ordinarily, goats wouldn’t be permitted to do this work around solar panels due to electrical cables surrounding the panels, but UB’s solar array was designed and built to be pedestrian friendly, so there are no cables.

This would certainly not be the first time UB has employed the services of animals to help combat a problem on campus. In 2017, the university started a partnership with Borders on Patrol, which uses border collies to help with geese management on campus.

It also follows a string of special guests UB has welcomed to campus through the early part of the fall semester. On Tuesday, shock-rock legend Alice Cooper and UB alumnus Shep Gordon visited to discuss their friendship forged in rock ‘n’ roll. The following day, UB welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris.

If Cooper, Gordon, Harris and goats had all been on campus at the same time, well, that day would surely have to be regarded as the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.) at UB.