Sheep Trim Grass
Sheep Trim Grass
Sheep Trim Grass
Sheep graze on the east slope of the campus of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Independence, Mo.
COURTESY SARA SCHEIL
Sheep graze on the east slope of the campus of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Independence, Mo.
COURTESY SARA SCHEIL
Bosco, the donkey, herds and protects the sheep as they graze on the church property to keep the grass and weeds trimmed.
In October 2013, St. Paul United Methodist Church in Independence, Mo., faced a landscaping challenge. The area was too steep for volunteers to mow, and there was invasive vegetation such as poison ivy. The church could not afford lawn-mowing services, so St. Paul’s Green Team member Sara Scheil contacted Susan Jaster of Storm Rider farm in Concordia, Mo. Jaster had a flock of black-bellied sheep and Bosco. Jaster got a legal permit to have the sheep graze within city limits and trained them to graze in designated areas.
“Bosco keeps the sheep calm,” said the Rev. Wesley Wingfield, associate pastor. “And they put a dent in the yard.” Jaster’s sheep can eat up to 100 square feet of grass in a day.
The sheep graze a few times a year to keep the grass at bay. They also eat the poison ivy without getting sick. “It’s nature’s way of decomposition,” she said. “This method ... is an alternative to toxic herbicides or noisy, polluting machinery.”
The church maximizes the use of the land on which it sits by leasing 26 plots in a community garden for people who want to grow organic vegetables. In addition, Scheil and others manage an apple, cherry, peach and Asian pear tree orchard as well as two herb gardens, strawberry beds, asparagus and rhubarb, which the community gardeners share.
For more information, contact Scheil at stpaulcommunitygarden@yahoo.com.
AT A GLANCE
St. Paul United Methodist Church
3601 S. Sterling, Independence, MO 64052
816-254-8680 | office@st-paulumc.org
Interim Pastor: Rev. Wesley Hughes Wingfield
Average Attendance: 73
Missouri Conference