Meet ‘the stadium kids.’ Social media is loving the goats at this Tacoma high school
Goats have hit the ground munching at Stadium High School.
Tacoma Public Schools rented the goats temporarily to eat overgrown vegetation above Stadium Bowl, the district posted on social media Tuesday.
They’ll be at the school for “the next week or two, and we ask that you stay baaa-ck, giving them plenty of space. Who needs lawnmowers when you’ve got these eco-friendly eating machines on the job?” the Facebook post said.
Social media users quickly expressed their support for the new team.
“Oh my goodness. I’m so excited about this,” one user commented on Facebook.
“Wow, the stadium kids seem younger every year,” another wrote.
The district’s Facebook post had 1,495 reactions, 108 comments and 335 shares as of Aug. 21. Their Instagram post had 1,098 likes, 17 comments and 208 shares.
The actual time the district will have the goats depends on how fast the animals work, according to Tacoma Public Schools spokesperson Kathryn McCarthy. The district only has them for 1-2 weeks, so the goats won’t be around when school begins on Sept. 9.
The goats aren’t out there all day and there are both staff from the rental company, Evergreen Goat Rentals and Brush Clearing, and school district staff monitoring them, she said.
The hillside above the south side of the Stadium Bowl where the goats are working is fenced off to prevent them from roaming elsewhere. Folks can see the goats from a distance, but the district asks that people give them space, McCarthy said.
The Monroe-based company rents out goats to clear brush on residential, commercial and government properties across the Puget Sound area, according to their Facebook page. McCarthy said the school district’s contract with Evergreen Goat Rental and Brush Clearing for this goat rental is for $19,854.
The benefit of having goats clear the vegetation rather than human employees is that they’re able to access more difficult spaces, according to McCarthy.
“The area where they’re specifically at is very, very steep and so it would be really, really difficult and probably unsafe to have humans try and work that area,” McCarthy said. “So goats are a great solution.”
Eric Billings, owner of Evergreen Goat Rentals, said heavy machinery like a skid steer can only be used on 30 or maybe 40-degree slopes, while goats can clear brush on steeper inclines. The difference between the terrain goats can clear versus what heavy machinery can clear is like “night and day,” he said.
They also “eat and give back” by fertilizing the ground as they eat, according to Billings.
According to McCarthy, the district used goats to clear the same area at Stadium High School about 4-5 years ago.
This story was originally published August 22, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
