\n5 new workers sink their teeth in job on Gov. Island<\/p>\n
By Ellen Moynihan AND Leonard Greene New York Daily News<\/p>\n
Mares eat oats, and does eat oats, and little lambs eat invasive plant species on Governors Island.<\/em> [Standing O to Moynihan and Greene for quoting that funny war-time novelty song.]<\/a><\/p>\n Five fluffy sheep that could have stepped out of an old-fashioned nursery rhyme were brought down from an Albany farm by the Trust for Governors Island and went to work Monday munching on unwanted vegetation on the island in New York Harbor.<\/em><\/p>\n [A picture of some fluffy sheep, not the ones working on Governors Island, but some others.\u00a0 \u21d3]<\/span><\/p>\n The task for this herd of sheep is to pig out on grass, mugworts and sunflowers that choke the landscaping of the island\u2019s lush Hammock Grove.<\/em><\/p>\n By supplying free food for the sheep \u2014 Flour, Sam, Evening, Chad and Philip Aries<\/em> [what great sheep names, huh?] \u2014 park managers don\u2019t have to rely as much on harmful, weed-controlling pesticides. As for the sheep, they get to do laudable environmental work and make an important contribution to society.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe shear genius of this idea lies in its simplicity,\u201d said Mayor de Blasio, packing in the puns and sound effects at a sheep introduction ceremony on the island Monday. \u201cOn behalf of the thousands of New Yorkers flocking to open space on Governors Island every season, I want to thank Flour, Sam, Evening, Chad and Philip Aries for doing their part to bring New York City baaaack.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBon appetit, fellas,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n The sheep play an important new role in the ecosystem of Hammock Grove, an experimental forest area of 1,200 trees planted between 2012 and 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n The planting project was designed to determine which species thrive best in New York.<\/em><\/p>\n More than 40 varieties of trees are planted in the grove, including pin oak, swamp white oak, hickory, tulip trees and catalpa, many of them saplings.<\/em><\/p>\n Once the trees are established, the shade will prevent invasive plants from taking over. But for now, the sheep are needed to do the job.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIn the summer I would spend about 80% of my time just weeding,\u201d said Malcolm Gore, senior gardener on the horticulture team and now the Governors Island shepherd.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hoping to focus on tree care some more and not have to be focused solely on preventing them from going to seed,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was my biggest worry in the past two summers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Gardeners in the past used goats to clear areas, but that strategy was a bust, said Clare Newman, president and CEO of the Trust for Governors Island.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cGoats like to eat wooded plants,\u201d Newman said. \u201cThey would strip off the low branches from the trees and the bark off the tree.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n She said the sheep, from Friends of Tivoli Lake Preserves and Farm in Albany, are much better workers.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re really doing a bang-up job,\u201d she said.<\/em><\/p>\n As cute as they may be, the sheep are working and not to be petted or fed by visitors, Newman said.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe encourage folks to look at the sheep and love the sheep,\u201d Newman said, \u201cbut not pet the sheep or feed the sheep.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Gore, the newly appointed shepherd, added that he wished the sheep could do a little more work.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt would be great if they could help mow the lawns,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Got this from today’s Daily News. SHEEP LABOR 5 new workers sink their teeth in job on Gov. Island By Ellen Moynihan AND Leonard Greene New York Daily News Mares eat oats, and does eat oats, and little lambs eat … Continue reading ![\"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/julian-schiemann-g-O9LQV51Qc-unsplash-scaled.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/julian-schiemann-g-O9LQV51Qc-unsplash-scaled.jpg\")
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