Around Town

‘They’ll Chew Down Everything’: The Goats Are Back at the New Canaan Nature Center

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Invasive plant species here in New Canaan have met their match … goats! For the second straight summer, the New Canaan Nature Center has introduced goats to help combat invasive plant species in a chemical-free manner. The goats are sourced from a company out of Rhinebeck, N.Y., according to the executive director of the New Canaan Nature Center, Bill Flynn. 

“[The company] does this all over the Northeast,” he said. “They rent [the goats] out who do their work, and then they go back.”

The goats are used primarily to remove an invasive plant called Japanese Knotweed.

Alice Wyman

‘We Chose Not To Use Chemicals’: Invasive Plant-Eating Goats Arrive at New Canaan Nature Center

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The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Carriage Barn Arts Center. In an effort to provide a pesticide-free solution to a growing number of invasive plants, the New Canaan Nature Center on Thursday introduced four goats into one of its pastures. The introduction of the goats is the Nature Center’s first such project “of what we hope is many,” according to Bill Flynn, the organization’s executive director. 

“Because of our land management plan, we chose not to use chemicals to tackle invasive species, and goats are a non-chemical way to do that,” Flynn said as he stood near a half-acre field in the northern section of the Nature Center. About 20 volunteers had prepared the pasture the day before by installing fencing and a shelter for the animals. 

The area is “full of” invasive vines, Flynn said. “Bittersweet, we have a huge mugwort problem on our property,” he said.

Around Town

Podcast: ‘Community Garden’ at New Canaan Nature Center

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This week, on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to New Canaan Nature Center Executive Director Bill Flynn about its Community Garden. The Oenoke Ridge organization is hosting its popular Harvest Festival from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday (details and ticket info here). Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

Bill Flynn

Podcast: Springtime at the New Canaan Nature Center

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Bill Flynn, executive director of the wonderful New Canaan Nature Center. Days away from the official start of spring, we talk to Bill about what the Nature Center has to offer local residents and families, what it’s been like navigating these past two years and what sort of activity the Nature Center’s popular outdoor spaces and trails have seen during the pandemic. 

Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0: