Goat Week at Kinsale Community School

Today the students and staff of KCS said goodbye to our furry friends who have been with us in our school over the past week and some. If you are wondering how these goats contributed to our school school community, we engaged in a sustainable, weed management practice called ‘‘goatscaping’’. The goats helped us to mitigate weeds without the use of pesticides. The goats inhabited the slope above our pitch and running track and as this area is a little steep and narrow, the goats’ agility enabled them to be the perfect helpers. Goats also have a wide ranging appetite, therefore, our guess is that they really enjoyed their stay with us while, helping us to remove some unwanted growth.

The goatherd William Walsh remained with them for the duration and he was most helpful in engaging with teachers and students by providing information on this practice and answering our questions. He also provided us with some fantastic educational resources for the students in relation to goatscaping. It has been a unique opportunity for the students to witness such an interesting sustainable practice.