These grazing goats helped the Pitt grounds crew clear a hillside

In July, goats came baa-ck to the University’s Pittsburgh campus for a tasty snack.

Falk Laboratory School, a K-8 school affiliated with the School of Education, sits atop a steep slope rife with vines, grasses, thistles and weeds, some of which are invasive species. The area, which is risky for Pitt’s grounds crew to access, is no match for the team of agile, hungry goats and a miniature donkey contracted from Allegheny GoatScape to clear the land.

Pitt has tapped herds of the cloven-hooved munching wonders since 2018 to maintain the campus’ most hard-to-reach places, including the half-acre below Falk School. It’s a win-win for everyone, said Andy Moran, senior manager of grounds in Facilities Management. The goats have a spot to graze, and the hillside is maintained without fossil fuels.

Using goats also helps stop the spread of invasive species, he said.

“There’s always a chance that when you cut an invasive down and you send it to a landfill, it can start to regrow there, but goats consume what they mow,” said Moran.

The herd that visited Pitt over three days consisted of Nubian, LaMancha, alpine and Nigerian dwarf goats along with a mini donkey bodyguard.

“Donkeys have an innate dislike of canines,” said Gavin Deming, executive director of Allegheny GoatScape. “Should a coyote or aggressive dog breach our fencing, they could kick and bite to protect their herd.”

While the goats cleared the invasive porcelain berry vines, staff from Allegheny GoatScape removed leftover pokeweed and snakeroot, which are poisonous to goats in large quantities.

— Photography by Aimee Obidzinski

Correction: This article was updated on July 30 to reflect that American pokeweed and white snakeroot plants are native to much of North America, including Pennsylvania.