From the front seat of a trailer-less semi, Nubian goats peek their heads out the half-opened window, seemingly asking to be let out, held or heard by their owner.
A few minutes later, around 11 a.m. Sept. 17, Keion Jackson answers their bleating prayers, ushering them out one by one to the parking lot pavement. Once there, he places a bowl of grain near the goats, a snack before their main course: Belle Isle Park’s invasive plants.
For Jackson, Belle Isle is beautiful, historic and rich with opportunity, neo-Gothic architecture and honeysuckle — a toxic plant that he said needs to be eliminated.
In two weeks, that shouldn’t be a problem for the area surrounding the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon, a 98-foot-tall bell tower on the island park that honors a beloved former Detroit News columnist. While the tower’s bells no longer chime, the state continues to clean up the grounds overtaken by thistle, poison ivy, and invasive cattails.
Enter Jackson of Kaaj Farms.
“This is the fantastic five,” said Jackson of his goats, noting they’re ruminant animals with four stomachs.
“Many people don’t know this, but they eat tons of noxious plants and different weeds we don’t even think about. By being here, I can help guide them and eliminate a particular type of weed too.”
As Jackson circles the tower, his goats huddle around the shrubbery like they're at a buffet.
Weeds and invasive plants overtake the perimeter of the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon, a 98-foot-tall bell tower on Belle Isle Park. Goats begin clearing — in this case, eating — up the site. | Photo by Tami Nicholson, Michigan Farm Bureau
A grain and livestock farmer in Belleville, a suburb of Detroit, Jackson’s love of Belle Isle Park started at 10 years old when his mother brought him to its beaches. The park had a giant slide then, he remembers now, and “it’s grown on me since.”
Now, at age 28, Jackson wants to help sustain the park’s beauty — one goat at a time.
“Helping to beautify something you cherish feels deeply fulfilling,” he told Michigan Farm News.
“It creates a sense of connection and purpose, knowing you’re contributing to the well-being of a space that holds personal meaning. Seeing the positive changes from removing the noxious plants and watching others enjoy the area enhances that joy, making the effort feel even more worthwhile.”
That feeling is shared by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which manages the park.
“The park’s care is almost exclusively volunteers, so they don’t have a lot of money to continually keep up with this some of this stuff,” said Tom Bissett, urban unit manager for DNR. “The goat-grazing project itself was kind of dreamt up by them.”
Bissett said the goat project looked attractive for multiple reasons, including reducing herbicide usage and limiting the amount of equipment, such as mowers, one would bring on the island to handle invasive species.
Park officials say they’re saving hundreds of dollars in herbicide treatments because of the goats, which visit annually.
“There's containment, there's suppression, and then there's complete eradication,” Bissett told Michigan Farm News. “And you're really unlikely to eradicate any kind of invasive plant using livestock grazing. It's more about suppressing it and even containing it.
“They decided to give it a shot, and we love it. It’s really just a win-win situation.”
Oudolf Gardens is the 3-acre garden that sits in front of and around the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon.
According to Richard Thomas, head horticulturist of Oudolf Gardens, the goats will eat everything in that area, including thistle and poison ivy.
“We're really fortunate to have a great relationship with the DNR, which allows us to manage the invasives that have crept into the carillon platform and the dais that surrounds it,” said Thomas, a volunteer.
“It’s an organic and efficient way of dealing with invasive species rather than using toxins. Through Keion’s help, this is how we're able to do it.”
Goats are ruminant animals with four stomachs, which allow them to eat large quantities of food. | Photo by Tami Nicholson, Michigan Farm Bureau
Future opportunities?
Next week, Jackson and his “fantastic five” should finish removing the invasive plants; plants Jackson would like to remove at other state parks with nonprofit and/or tribal support, including ones in the Great Lakes Basin.
Jackson will also apply for a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, which will allow him to restore nature via livestock grazing projects.
“I’d love to help beautify parks that have diverse ecosystems, like native grasslands or coastal areas,” he said. “Enhancing urban parks to create more green spaces and community gardens would also be a great focus. Places that could benefit from rewilding or habitat restoration would be ideal, too.”
DNR uses various methods for plant control, including insect releases to control purple loosestrife, a perennial plant that displaces wildlife and agriculture.
“Goats are just another interesting way to look at it,” Bissett added.
“This is an ideal situation, and it seems to be working so far.”
For the Wayne County Farm Bureau Young Farmer chair, there seems to be no complaints either.
“Goats, nature’s gardeners, reclaim balance in ecosystems,” added Jackson, “reminding us that even invasive species can be managed with care and creativity.”
Wayne County Farm Bureau member Keion Jackson has partnered with Belle Isle Park and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to help “beautify” the area surrounding the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon. | Photo by Tami Nicholson, Michigan Farm Bureau