A team of 13 goats is demolishing a swath of invasive and flammable vegetation in Langford, one bite at a time. On Friday, the goats munched away on a blackberry bush, drawing spectators to the area just west of Starlite Stadium. “We’ll hopefully get this area cleared and we’ll repurpose it with something that’s safer for the community,” said Langford FireSmart coordinator Courtney Tremblay. While tasty, many invasive plant species are highly flammable. Langford is testing the team of four-legged landscapers this week, to see whether they can effectively rid the city of unnecessary wildfire fuel. “A lot of people don’t realize embers travel about two kilometres from a fire,” Tremblay said. “There is not a property in Langford that is less than 1,100 metres from the forest, so we have a lot of wildfire risk here.” The goats come from Vancouver Island Goatscaping in Cedar, just south of Nanaimo. The business owner, Natasha Murphy, said goats can remove vegetation on steep slopes that aren’t safe for humans. She said they can eat between five to 10 pounds of foliage a day. “They have an interesting digestive system in that the seeds are no longer viable after they have passed through the goats,” Murphy said. Langford is paying $35 per goat, per day. If this week’s goatscaping proves effective, the team could be tasked with taking down invasive plants in other parts of the city. “I definitely hope to continue the partnership with the city of Langford and other municipalities as well,” Murphy said. On Sunday between noon and 3 p.m., the fire department is welcoming people to watch the goats work at 1109 Langford Parkway. “The goal is to hook people into the interest of the goats, get people excited,” Tremblay said. “Once people are here, we’re going to have tons of information and education on wildfire mitigation.” Tremblay said she’ll know Sunday’s event was successful if she sees a boost in sign-ups for the city’s wildfire mitigation home assessments. The free assessments identify fire hazards around private homes and methods to remove them.
