The sheep on East Campus aren’t just grazing. They’re clearing the way for people to use the green space around the Oconee River.

Thirty sheep were brought on Sunday to a fenced-in area on River Road between the Oconee River and East Campus and behind the University’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

Sheep on Campus

The sheep are being used to eat and control the growing privet, an invasive plant, along the river.

“The idea is to keep munching and munching until the privet thins out,” said Dexter Adams, director of the Grounds Department at the University Physical Plant and a coordinator in bringing the sheep to campus. “It’s organic.”

Adams said privet is a non-native plant that “chokes out” the native plants in the area. The hedges at Sanford Stadium are made of privet, he said.

Using sheep to clear out the privet on the estimated seven acres of land is an alternative method of sustainability, Adams said.

“Because of buffer requirements, we can’t get in there with machinery,” he said.

Jennif Chandler, a local shepherd, is lending the sheep to the University at no charge.

Various University departments paid for a fence to be built around the sheep.

“Sheep are good because unlike goats, which will eat just about anything, sheep are a little more selective,” Adams said.

Sheep will also stay away from the water, which is crucial for grazing near a river, he said.

The sheep herd is not alone. There are two donkeys to help keep away predators and eat plants that are too high up for the sheep to reach.

According to Kevin Kirsche, the director of the University’s Office of Sustainability and a collaborator in the sheep project, said the sheep are part of a greater initiative for East Campus.

“A longer-term sort of vision is to eliminate privet to restore the native forest and also open up views and accessibility to the river,” Kirsche said. “That plan envisions this area becoming a more park-like setting in which University students and other members of the campus community can engage with the river and a more natural environment.”

He said the thick privet acts as a barrier preventing people from seeing the river, so the sheep will help cut it down.

Jennifer Kanine, a first-year Ph.D student from Clare, Mich., in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, first heard about the sheep coming to campus in early February when Adams visited her ecology class.

“It took us back a little bit,” she said. “You’re going to put sheep out there?”

Adams said the sheep will be kept at the University for two to three weeks before they are returned to Chandler, but the sheep’s job won’t be done.

There are plans for them to come back in the summer to graze in the same spot, according to Adams.

“They’re just getting started,” Adams said. “They’re going to eat all the green stuff they can get to, but some of the stuff is high.”

Kirsche said the sheep on East Campus are both an “innovative and environmental landscape practice” and entertaining for people.

“From what I’ve heard and observed, the sheep seem to be drawing a crowd,” he said. “I think it’s a novelty on campus and a demonstration of great ecological practices.”