Goat vs. mower: UW-Bothell tries experiment

BOTHELL – The brown, black and white goats didn’t notice their audience Thursday as they munched the thorny blackberry bushes on the hill behind the library at the University of Washington’s Bothell campus.

Human visitors wandered up to the orange electric fence for a closer look at the unusual gardeners, brought in by the university and Cascadia Community College to control the pesky bushes.

The headstrong herd was up to the challenge.

“They’re tough little guys,” said Joe Marchand, a gardener at the campus. “We’re getting a lot of attention. A lot of people are coming up to check them out.”

The university and the community college teamed up to bring in the goats to control the blackberry bushes growing mainly behind the library.

If it works, they hope to use the goats for other lawn care projects.

“We’re experimenting to see how well they perform,” Marchand said. “It seems like they’re really knocking it back quickly.”

The 60 goats are from a Vashon-based business called Rent-a-Ruminant. They arrived in Bothell on Wednesday evening and are scheduled to keep munching until Tuesday or Wednesday.

Rent-A-Ruminant charges $750 a day plus a $200 fee for traveling and setting up the goats.

While munching, the goats are corralled in a portable fence, which has a low-voltage charge.

If the experiment is successful, the university and community college will consider using the goats for controlling weeds and lawn maintenance, Marchand said.

The idea of using the goats was to reduce the amount of fuel-burning equipment used on the campus and fits in with the university’s efforts to be easier on the environment.

The campus has been herbicide-free since July 2006 and practices organic methods of weed removal. The campus also creates and uses its own compost.

Before the goats, workers with weed trimmers hacked away at the blackberry bushes, Marchand said. The work was intense and very time consuming.

Working on an uneven slope with the trimmers also was a safety issue. And the stinging nettles and prickly blackberry bushes weren’t a treat for workers either, he added. Many were thankful the goats took over the job.

“We were like ‘Yippee, we don’t have to do it!’” Marchand said. “They’re just continuous eating machines.”

The herd’s owner, Tammy Dunakin, started with 10 goats 21/2 years ago. Today, she has 100. Each goat has a name and a distinct personality, she said.

Dunakin is even trying her hand at breeding goats specifically for vegetation management. Goats are well suited for the work because they can continuously eat a variety of weeds.

“I like to say they’re just eatin’, poopin’ machines,” she said.

The invasive Himalayan blackberry growing on campus is a favorite among Dunakin’s herd.

“How they eat thorny stuff like blackberry is a mystery to me,” Dunakin said. “Their mouths never get hurt. They literally suck down the blackberry cane like it’s spaghetti.”

Reporter Jasa Santos: 425-339-3465 or jsantos@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.