A group of goats has helped save a local pollinator meadow from being overgrown by an invasive species.
Castlegar Butterflyway rangers in partnership with Castlegar Communities in Bloom, Kootenay Native Plant Society, KinSeed Ecologies, Central Kootenay Invasive Species Society, and the Kootenay Gallery of Art have been maintaining and developing pollinator gardens near the art gallery.
A lot of work has been done in recent years by numerous volunteers including students from Twin Rivers Elementary School, who seeded a meadow at the gallery last October.
That meadow, along with other ecosystems and habitats, is threatened by an infestation of the invasive vetch.
Last week, the local Butterflyway group called in some unusual help. A group of 40 goats from ScapeGoats Landscape chomped away for two days clearing the area of unwanted vegetation.
Organizer Olga Hallborg offers many thanks to all those who helped make the goat project possible including Brenda Beckwith, Darlene Kalawsky, Don Fodor, Kady Kaden, Kirk Duff, Maggie Shirley, Murray Hallborg, Valentine Field and CKISS.
This butterflyway project is part of a David Suzuki Foundation initiative, which focuses on supporting native pollinators through planting native plants. More information is available on the Castlegar Butterflyway Facebook page.
READ MORE: Registration open for summer camps at Castlegar Community Complex
betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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