Jonny LeonidasOn a sweltering summer morning, six adult female sheep graze the meadow alongside the Belmont Victory Gardens at Rock Meadow Conservation Area, a portion of the Western Greenway between Trapelo Street and Winter Street. The hum of an electric fence fills the air, as the ewes chow down on some grass in the sunlight.
The sheep, which arrived in early June from Morse Brook Farm in Vermont, graze part of Rock Meadow as an eco-friendly version of meadow maintenance. They help to halt the growth of some invasive species, according to Joan Teebagy, a volunteer shepherd and head of the “Sheep in the Meadow” Facebook page.
“The goal of the program is to demonstrate grazing as meadow management,” said Teebagy, a retired Belmont software engineer. “To keep a meadow, it either needs to be mowed or burned or grazed.”
Sheep and goat grazing is a pilot program, according to Belmont Conservation Commissioner Mary Trudeau. The grazing, in addition to other programs like selective mowing, strategic herbicide use, and hand culling invasive and non-native plants, are all part of the commission’s goal to achieve a healthy Rock Meadow.
Belmont still mows most of the 70 acres, but Trudeau said in addition to helping to control invasive plant species, the sheep serve as an educational wildlife resource for the town.
The sheep connect Belmont residents to nature and farming activities, Teebagy said. The sheep attract new species of birds to the field that sit on the backs of the sheep while they graze, and spectators can watch.
“I mean, people really seem to enjoy it and have asked tons and tons of questions. So I see it as a good opportunity for education,” Teebagy said. “This is sort of presenting an ideal picture of probably how a lot of people would prefer animals to be raised.”
Teebagy said she proposed the idea to the Belmont Conservation Commission, and received permission to start the project in 2015.
“I think the jury is still out on whether or not the sheep provide a service that aids in the conservation of Rock Meadow,” Trudeau said, due to the amount of plants left behind after sheep grazing.
The Conservation Commision mandated the addition of goats to the program to help control the weedy vegetation left behind by the sheep, who are “pickier eaters,” according to Trudeau.
The sheep will eat most invasive species that are not poisonous, such as the mustard plant. A volunteer group is working to pull the black swallow-wort plant from the meadow, an invasive species that “thrived” during the pandemic, Teebagy said.
“The sheep have been a good sort of talking point about ecology, farming, and people just like looking at them, too,” said Teebagy.
The Rock Meadow sheep will return to their home in Vermont at the end of September..
