Sheep recruited to help with the landscaping in Rosemont park

Montreal'sPelican Park has a new lawn maintenance crew forthe summer, and they're a pretty woolly bunch.

On Saturday, the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie borough introduced thesix ewes and two lambs that will serve as environmentally-friendlylawnmowers for the next month as part of an urban agriculture pilotproject.

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Grazing animals have some ecological advantages when it comes tolandscaping, said Marie-Eve Julien-Denis, one ofthe project'sorganizers.

"They will enrich the soil with their manure and contribute tourban biodiversity, because insects and birds won't be bothered bythe noise of lawnmowers," she said.

Idea catching on

Sheep and goats have been used to manage green spaces and parksin Europe for centuries, and the idea is beginningto catch on inCanada as well.

Last month, Calgary introduced 106 goats to a city park in anexperimental effort to wipe out thistle and other noxiousweeds.

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On Saturday, the small Montreal flock settled into their jobquickly, seemingly undisturbed by their new urbansurroundings orthe dozens of curious onlookers who braved the pouring rain towelcome them.

It won't be all work, though: the sheep's schedule over the nextmonth also includes picnics and even yoga sessionswith localresidents, though Julien-Denis would not elaborate on what role thesheep would play. She also saidthere would be weekly strolls toother nearby parks.

Bringing farm life to the city

The group running the project will also be holding educationalworkshops to teach Montrealers about cheese, wool, andurbanagriculture, and to give them a small peek into where their foodcomes from.

"Not everyone gets the chance to visit a farm or see animals,"Julien-Denis said. "This is a bit of an open door onto a farm."

The small herd will be supervised 24 hours a day by twoshepherds, and will spend their night in a small building set up asa sheep fold.

Borough mayor Franois Croteau said his administration has beengradually trying to bring agriculture back to the city, beginningwith a community henhouse a few years ago.

"We want to show it is possible, step by step, to reintroduceagriculture in Montrealers' daily way of life," he said.

Possible expansion

Although the herd of sheep will be heading back to a farm outsidethe city after a month, Julien-Denis hopes the project can beexpanded to more parks next year.

Her ultimate dream, she said, is to make "the first-everMontreal sheep's milk cheese" hopefully in time for the city's375th birthday next year.