Originally I found out about these goats in true Rhode Island fashion: One of my sister’s sister-in-laws has been hiring Herd Of Hope (which includes something like 68 goats and one sheep) for the last I-don’t-know how many years to clear and help manage a plot of land adjacent to her house.

Herd of Hope is an animal sanctuary situated at Laural Hill, a 28 acre micro farm in Hope, Rhode Island. The people behind both operations are Wayne Pittman and Jackie Magnan. Established in 2010, in addition to goatscaping, they have also become known for producing edible flowers (speaking of which if you’ve never had a cocktail garnished with edible 🌸’s from Little Bitte Cocktails you are missing out), greens and herbs, and even soap made from the goats’ milk.

But back to those hungry goats…

Yes, you can hire these adorable billies and nannies to do your landscaping! They will motor over (see above photo) and make poison ivy and any overgrowth disapear in a matter of hours, over the course of an afternoon really. They also love eating poison sumac and oak which are irritants to us humans but delicacies to them. It’s an eco conscious (no chems, completely natural and organic…they also fertilize along the way, lol) and Instagram worthy (be the envy of your neighbors and frenemies!) way to get rid of invasive plants and such. I mean, I keep telling one of my brothers, who insists on clearing his land himself and has subsequently ended up with several poison ivy rashes, to employ HOH.

If you’re interested in bringing these cuties to your yard or maybe signing on for some soap, check out their site.