TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma high school has brought in a group of adorable groundskeepers to help prepare for the first day of classes.
Stadium High School partnered with Evergreen Goat Rentals Brush Clearing to bring in a team of the animals to mitigate overgrown vegetation on its campus.
The school said the goats will be on-site for the next week or two, working primarily above the Stadium Bowl. Classes at Stadium begin on Sept. 9.
"It's like bringing a farm to the city," said Eric Billings, the owner of Evergreen Goat Rentals. There are approximately 50 goats on the project and yes, each one has a name. "It's good goat country," he said of the hillside.
Per its Facebook page, Evergreen Goat Rentals helps properties across western Washington with clearing brush, blackberries and other vegetation that needs clearing.
The area directly above the Stadium Bowl is very steep terrain, Tacoma Public Schools athletic director James Neil said, and has blackberries spread within it. Neil said this makes for an ideal situation for goats to come in, as they are used to traversing steep ground and enjoy eating blackberries.
"Having the goats here where they can both navigate a steep hillside and eat the brush is a win-win for us," Neil told KING 5 on Thursday.
If humans were to remove the brush, it could require trucks and equipment to transport the discarded brush away from the school.
"Here, we have the goats actually recycling it for us on site," he said.
Neil said the goats are also spreading joy to the neighborhood, as it is a novel experience for students, teachers and community members to see the goats at work on campus.