As Mississauga prepares to host its annual Invasive Species Awareness Fair, city officials readily acknowledge the real stars of the day are those of a different species — goats.
“The goats are ‘herding’ back to Mississauga for their first public appearance of 2026,” City of Mississauga officials said in a media advisory earlier this week announcing the upcoming fair, which takes place Saturday, May 30 at Erindale Park and is open to the public.
“In 2024, Mississauga became the first municipality in Ontario to use goat grazing to control invasive species,” officials continued, adding visitors to the fair can “watch the goats as they graze and learn more about prescribed goat grazing.”
For a third consecutive year, Mississauga is enlisting herds of goats to help in the ongoing war against harmful invasive plants in parts of the city.
City officials confirmed in February that dozens of the four-legged hooved creatures will once again be strategically deployed this spring and summer to carry out a relatively new and “unique approach (to the area) to managing invasive plant species to help restore the city’s wetlands.”
The partnership with the common domesticated grazing animals proved successful in 2024, the first year of the program, so the city signed them up again in 2025.
Encouraged yet again by the goats’ collective performance, city officials quickly planned to set the helpful animals loose in specific parks and other grassy areas in 2026 as well.
The goats have been “transformational”
“Goat grazing has been transformational” in Mississauga, the city said several months ago in announcing year three of the program.
The practice is known as prescribed goat grazing and involves the use of livestock to address management concerns in habitats adapted to grazing, such as meadows and prairies, officials noted earlier.
Essentially, the goats are used “as natural lawnmowers to control invasive plant species like buckthorn, phragmites and reed canary grass — non-native invasive species that threaten local biodiversity,” the city said.
City officials said Mississauga was Ontario’s first municipality to use this method to control invasive species when it launched the program two years ago.
Mississauga uses the goats to do their job targeting invasive plants across 1.2 hectares of natural areas at five sites in the city.
“Goat grazing is a low-impact and chemical-free approach to invasive species management,” the city said earlier this year. “Forestry staff are implementing a three-year monitoring framework to evaluate grazing effectiveness across diverse habitats and multiple invasive species. Through the goat-grazing program, Mississauga has been a leader in innovative, evidence-based conservation and other cities have followed.”
While doing their job, the goat herds are monitored by professional herders and protected by portable fencing, “so there’s nothing for residents to be concerned about,” the city said.
As it prepares to host its Invasive Species Awareness Fair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on May 30 at the west-end park, the city says it’s seeking to educate more residents.
“Invasive species are plants, animals, insects and micro-organisms that are not native to the area where they are living,” city officials said. “They can cause harm to native species and create an imbalance with ecosystems and habitats. The City of Mississauga is leading the way in invasive species management guided by its Invasive Species Management Plan, and has spent many years actively addressing various species across the city.”
Invasive species second-biggest threat to biodiversity
Invasive species are the second-biggest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss, the city noted earlier. They can negatively alter Mississauga’s parks, woodlands, natural areas and wildlife habitats.
“Invasive plants can take over the space, change the soil composition and compete for nutrients, making it harder for native plants to grow.”
Invasive insects, meanwhile, can cause direct harm to trees and other native plants by transmitting disease or eating the leaves or stems, officials said.
“Consistent effort and adaptive management are required to maintain invasive species populations at levels that do not impact native ecosystems. Mississauga has established strong programs to ensure management is effective and lasting.”
Mississauga officials went public in summer 2023 with a plea to residents to help them in the fight against a number of invasive plants that pose a threat to the city’s natural environment.
The invasive pests can also be toxic to humans, the city noted at the time.
Officials say the upcoming fair is a free-of-charge family-friendly event where visitors can try hands-on activities, join nature walks, learn how to help manage invasive species and see goat grazing in action. Live music and face painting for kids are also part of the day’s activities.
Last week, the city received the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation for its increasingly popular goat-grazing program.
(Cover photo and inside photos: City of Mississauga)
INsauga’s Editorial Standards and Policies
Last 30 Days: 56,309 Votes
All Time: 1,355,673 Votes
1673 VOTES
Are you excited for the World Cup?
WIN A $100 GIFT CARD
Subscribe to INsauga’s daily email newsletter for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card.