A boat carries two- and four-legged passengers along the Chicago River on Wednesday, July 7, 2021. (WTTW News)
A corporate outing drew an uncommon amount of attention Wednesday when ComEd treated some of its hard-working staff to a cruise along the Chicago River.
That’ll happen when your “employees” turn out to be goats.
Members of the herd got the ride of their lives as part of a push from ComEd to educate folks about the utility company’s use of goats to manage overgrown vegetation around hard-to-reach power lines.
The sustainable, eco-friendly solution is now in its third year, with a herd of 200 goats dispatched annually to Pekin, Illinois, for four weeks in June and July. In 2020, the animals grazed their way through 13 acres of dense brush, according to ComEd.
A goat on a boat. (WTTW News)
Using goats, which are on loan from Goats on the Go, cuts the cost and time required to clear the vegetation by more than half, utility officials said.
Notoriously voracious and indiscriminate eaters, goats are also favored by the Chicago Department of Aviation when it comes to “mowing” tricky areas at O’Hare. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has jumped on the trend as well, bringing in goats to get rid of weeds and invasive species surrounding its water reclamation plants.
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
