Pa. School District Turns Lawn Care Over To Sheep

CARLISLE, Pa. -- A central Pennsylvania school has a woolly plan to keep its grass neatly trimmed.

The Carlisle Area School District says it can save up to $15,000 a year by turning over some landscaping chores to sheep.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports the district is using the sheep to keep the grass near its solar panels neatly trimmed. The sheep nibble grass in the morning and take refuge in the shade of the panels in the afternoon.

With the food already on hand, the district need only supply the sheep with water.

A middle school assistant principal is providing the sheep. Eric Sands says he's still trying to figure out exactly how many sheep he needs to use to keep the area clear.

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Comments

[JScott]

10:56 AM on 06/15/2011

Nothing new here. The do this for brush clearance in Griffith Park in LA and the Berkely Hills in the SF bay area.

[sibyl9]

12:30 PM on 06/14/2011

Great idea and it cuts down on the noise pollution.

[Candide33]

08:46 AM on 06/14/2011

We had goats to keep the unused half of our property 'mowed', they were terrors when they started getting out. Sheep may be a better choice.

[chetzmom]

05:13 PM on 06/13/2011

Didn't they use something similar during WW2? or was it WW1? They used sheep to keep the White house lawn trimmed rather than use lawnmowers, workers, etc.

[iAREamerica]

03:39 PM on 06/13/2011

In related news, a local Carlisle, PA Corporation has just been given a $15,000 tax subsidy for no reason whatsoever...

[lifepanels]

02:56 PM on 06/13/2011

It's actually not too far out there. The idea has been around for a while. As a matter of fact there's a place that has already made a design of the idea.

http://www.zazzle.com/techatfirstsite_ii/gifts?cg=196935251392304342

[pipetoe]

12:10 PM on 06/13/2011

Victims of Weiner.

[JoJo Errington]

11:45 AM on 06/13/2011

I like the idea, but has anyone thought about the cost of cleaning up their "hm, hm" droppings? Animal waste may set back any environmental benefit of not using a gas mower, and I would assume that being a school, they would want to keep exposure to animal feces to a minimum. I wonder how much cheaper it is to hire someone to pick up poop than it is to hire someone to mow the lawn...

[Judithmo]

04:33 PM on 06/13/2011

Since sheep are herbivores their manure can be considered a fertilizer to the soil, adding valuable nutrients. Cat and dog feces are "waste" since they're fed processed kibble (made out of who knows what, including factory farm meat by-products) but since sheep only eat all natural and vegan grass and hay their manure is a resource. No commercial or chemical fertilizer will be needed to keep the grass green.

[Cat Harris]

11:34 AM on 06/13/2011

Not weird-it's a brilliant idea!