Latest news with #goats
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
They're Baaaa-ck: SDGE Deploys 300 Goats in San Diego, Launches Instagram to Spotlight Wildfire Prevention Measures
SAN DIEGO, June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) is combining hooves-on-the-ground innovation with digital storytelling by launching a new Instagram account, @thegoatsdge, to spotlight its wildfire prevention efforts, just as 300 goats paraded through a San Diego neighborhood to their next grazing site. The event, which drew enthusiastic community support, is part of SDGE's broader wildfire mitigation strategy, using goats to clear flammable vegetation from transmission corridors while now also engaging the public year-round through a novel, behind-the-scenes social media platform. The goats serve as environmentally friendly "vegetation managers," adept at navigating steep and rugged terrain that is less accessible to humans or machinery. As they graze, they consume invasive plant species and their seeds, while naturally fertilizing soil. This process not only reduces erosion but also promotes regrowth of native vegetation. Since 2021, these herds have cleared thousands of high-risk acres across San Diego County. "Our goats may be a visible symbol of our wildfire prevention strategy, but they represent just one element of SDGE's comprehensive, multi-layered approach for community safety and grid resilience," said Brian D'Agostino, vice president of wildfire and climate science at SDGE. "Our record of 17 years without a major utility-related catastrophic wildfire reflects our collective measures to protect the region and continue providing our customers with safe, reliable service, today and into the future." Why goats? Their grazing activity enhances soil health by increasing nitrogen levels, fostering more resilient ecosystems. By replacing herbicides and heavy machinery, goats contribute to both environmental protection and infrastructure safety. Unlike mechanical or chemical methods, goats clear flammable vegetation without generating sparks or runoff, making them ideal for use near homes and sensitive habitats. Follow Our Goats on Social MediaTo further spotlight the importance of emergency preparedness, wildfire safety, and sustainable grazing, SDGE launched a dedicated Instagram account to share the goats' ongoing contributions: @thegoatsdge. Follow their journey as they provide wildfire prevention and safety tips year-round. Wildfire Mitigation Leadership: A 17-Year RecordSDGE's comprehensive wildfire mitigation program integrates cutting-edge technology, ecological solutions and community collaboration to help reduce wildfire risk. The program includes: Wildfire and Climate Resilience Center: One of the most technologically advanced centers in the industry, it serves as a hub for research, development and implementation of innovative solutions. The center combines AI and predictive modeling with emergency response coordination to facilitate swift and integrated action against regional threats. AI and Weather Intelligence: Operates one of the nation's most sophisticated utility-owned weather networks, applies machine learning to predict weather and better understand fire potential and utilizes a full-time utility meteorology team. Grid Resilience: Completed more than 315 miles of strategic undergrounding, installed 1,600 fire-resistant poles and conducted more than 10,000 miles of advanced LiDAR inspections, enhancing reliability and safety for our communities. Community Roots, National ImpactResidents of San Diego neighborhood Clairemont Mesa gathered to cheer as the goats made their way through the neighborhood, escorted by SDGE employees and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department personnel. "These goats are nature's wildfire prevention team, clearing brush in hard-to-reach places and helping us decrease our year-round fire risk," said San Diego Fire-Rescue's Fire Information Officer, Capt. Jason Shanley. "We love that we get to work with the real 'G.O.A.T's of the fire service, and we are grateful for their partnership and hard work to help us keep the community safe and preserve the environment!" As wildfire seasons intensify nationwide, SDGE's innovative approaches, from deploying goats to leveraging AI and advanced technologies, are influencing industry practices throughout the energy sector. About SDGESDGE is an innovative energy delivery company that provides clean, safe and reliable energy to better the lives of the people it serves in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The company is committed to creating a sustainable future by increasing energy delivered from low or zero-carbon sources; accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles; and investing in innovative technologies to ensure the reliable operation of the region's infrastructure for generations to come. SDGE is a recognized leader in its industry and community, as demonstrated by being named Corporate Partner of the Year at the San Diego Business Journal's Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards and receiving PA Consulting's ReliabilityOne® Award for Outstanding Reliability Performance for 19 consecutive years. SDGE is a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), a leading North American energy infrastructure company. For more information, visit or connect with SDGE on social media @SDGE. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Vogue
5 days ago
- Vogue
This Under-the-Radar Island in the Indian Ocean Is Full of Breathtaking Natural Wonders
Instead, we bounce along a dry wadi channel, well past the campsites used by most visitors, where loud music bellows from a speaker. We cover the last stretch on foot, and end up in a clearing I'd have never found without someone like Nelson. His friend Suleiman Almaroh, the area's caretaker, meets us at the trailhead wearing flip-flops and a skinny walking stick. He was born in a cave nearby, he tells me, and still grazes his goats between the trees. Photo: Chris Schalkx While Nelson's crew reassembles the camp on a rocky escarpment, Almaroh guides me around the forest of dragon's blood trees. At one gnarled specimen—'Probably older than my grandfather's grandfather,' he says—he whips out a dull blade and demonstrates how to harvest its crimson resin, once prized across the ancient world for everything from medicine to makeup to warding off malicious djinns. Photo: Chris Schalkx Photo: Chris Schalkx But over his 70-or-so years on the plateau, Almaroh has seen the landscape change: rainfall has dwindled, and increasingly frequent cyclones have uprooted whole swathes of trees. Tourist numbers have grown, but at a cost. 'My animals eat the rubbish they leave behind,' he says. 'And some [tourists] climb the trees, even though we ask them not to.' He now tends a nursery of dragon's blood saplings in his backyard, carefully fencing them from the roaming goats that have already gnawed their way through much of the island's flora. 'I won't live to see them grow tall,' he says. 'But my grandfather told me: love these trees more than your children. They give us life.'
CTV News
13-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Lethbridge brings back goats for river valley weed control
Lethbridge brings back goats for river valley weed control If you're out and about in Lethbridge's river valley in the coming weeks, be on the lookout for goats—205, to be exact.
CBS News
10-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
FEMA grant fuels goat-powered fire mitigation in Sacramento County
Goats have become an all-too-familiar sight in the Greater Sacramento Region when California's wildfire season approaches. As we enter mid-June, goats are hard at work in Mather taking out dry brush to try and mitigate fires. But this year, Sacramento County says they're working with extra dollars to help those mitigation efforts, being awarded a FEMA grant just shy of $200,000. This means the county can cover areas prone to fire that they couldn't before. "In years past, we've had a large number of fires break out at our properties, and it's tragic, and we don't want to see it again," said Ken Casparis, county spokesperson. The county showed us a large section of land that the goats just mowed down, leaving no dry brush in sight. It's evidence of just how much vegetation these goats can take out in critical areas. "It's pretty much areas that are difficult for our manned crews to get to, and then if we have a lot of large open spaces, that would take a lot of staff time," Casparis said. Tim Arrowsmith, a managing partner of Western Grazers, a Northern California goat grazing company, says about 600 of his goats can get through a couple of acres. He says they rest in the winter and that the dry grass does little to keep them nourished. Arrowsmith said the goats need to be provided "minerals, a lot of salt and molasses" to stay healthy during the grazing season. Nearby neighbors couldn't be more thrilled about the visitors. "I love them because they're taking the fire hazard away from the perimeter of the neighborhood," said Adam Sotherland, who lives in the area. "It's nice having the furry creatures running around the neighborhood."
Telegraph
08-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Goats deployed to clear overgrown graveyards
An overgrown Welsh churchyard has employed an eco-friendly method to clear gravestones – a herd of hungry goats. The goats are loaned from a nearby business to chew their way through brambles, weeds, and excess foliage at the 13th century church. The animals have been hired by Narberth town council in Pembrokeshire to work at St Andrew's Church and are monitored by GPS so they do not wander off. The council said the goats can provide a natural and chemical-free way of clearing areas and are trialling the method over the next two to three weeks. Locals have been asked not to approach the goats at work, supervise children nearby and keep dogs on leads. A spokesman for the council said: 'Narberth town council is continuing its work to enhance the grounds of St Andrew's Church as part of our ongoing biodiversity and environmental improvement programme. 'These goats will help clear excess growth around gravestones and across the site, enabling us to implement a longer-term ground management plan.' Clynderwen-based company Biogoats 2 Rent also hire the goats out privately to businesses, the national park authority and other churches. A spokesman for the company said: 'Bio Goats is an eco-friendly weed and brush control company. We hire goats out to the private, business, and agricultural sectors. 'Conservation grazing is the eco-friendly way of dealing with invasive weed, brush and knotweed. 'Goats are browsers first so leaves and a good old bramble bush, would be their first go-to, also once seeds have passed through a goat, they are generally non-viable. ' Goats are also generally very friendly and sociable animals so you might also make yourself a friend or two.' Richard White, who runs the business, said the goats are monitored by GPS rather than using collars in a process recently shown on Clarkson's Farm, the Amazon Prime Video series. Mr White said: 'I think he stole the idea from us. We're the only company in the UK to do this. We get inquiries from all over the UK, but the travel costs can make it unviable for customers from further away. 'We enjoy what we do and meet some nice people along the way.'
