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WARRENVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A DuPage County Boy Scout is using 38 goats to promote environmentally friendly weed removal.
Gavin Burseth, 16, showed off his goats Wednesday at the Blackwell Forest Preserve Family Campground near Warrenville, where they munched on invasive species and plants such as poison ivy, the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1mZdR8O ). He and his older brother run a goat-powered lawn care business.
The South Elgin High School junior said the goats eat invasive plants and produce fertilizer to bring back native vegetation.
Burseth wants to be a veterinarian and own a clinic someday. He is currently working toward earning the highest status of Eagle Scout and is applying for a conservation award. Using the goats for plant removal in a fenced-off area of the campground was the last of three conservation projects for his application.
Burseth's goats aren't the only natural lawnmowers to be employed in the Chicago area. Goats, sheep, llamas and wild burros were used to cut the grass at O'Hare International Airport in August 2013.
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Information from: Daily Herald, http://www.dailyherald.com
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