Goats clear invasive species from Glencoe's Milton Park to delight of onlookers

When north suburban Glencoe leaders realized they had a local park overrun with invasive species, they wanted to find an environmentally friendly way to clear the space. That meant no harsh chemicals and no heavy machinery. That left them with a surprising solution: a herd of goats who were practically made for the job.

Foot traffic is up at Milton Park because of that special maintenance crew. They come with two horns, four legs and a serious appetite.

"It's fun for the kids to come and watch the goats. It's fun for us to come and watch the goats eat and sleep and just run around," said Pam Kramer, who visited the park with her grandkids Thursday.

Thirteen goats arrived at Milton Park Monday ready to eat. And eat. And eat.

"It's just fun because you don't usually see a bunch of goats in the middle of Glencoe," neighbor Amanda Harris said.

"They're moving about 300 square feet of invasive species a day and they're here all week," said Bobby Collins.

The goats clear everything out up to six feet off the ground, including invasive species like buckthorn, honeysuckle and poison ivy that have pushed out native species. Fenced in on all sides, this idea came from the park district's "green team."

"Our board was very supportive, although we did make sure that we were communicating with the neighbors and making sure that the community was on board and ever since we did it the community has loved it and requested that the goats come back," Collins said.

The hired help comes from a farm in Wisconsin, and they're here 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It requires some extra oversight: a group of 52 volunteers called the Goat Guards watch them every afternoon and evening. The program is so popular it hit capacity and inspired its own merch.

"His four-year-old sister wants to be a goat guard, but they didn't sign up this year in time, but next year her mom promised they could sign up," Kramer said of her grandchildren.

But Theo's sister is in luck: the goats will be back, since it will take multiple years to clear the space.

If you want to see the goats in action yourself, you still have some time. They'll be on duty on Friday as well.