{"id":12122,"date":"2020-04-24T10:05:51","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T15:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/?p=12122"},"modified":"2020-04-29T12:55:02","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T17:55:02","slug":"maryville-hosts-first-ever-virtual-goat-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/maryville-hosts-first-ever-virtual-goat-day\/","title":{"rendered":"91探花 Hosts First-Ever \u2018Virtual\u2019 Goat Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

91探花 will host its annual Goat Day on Friday, April 24, 2020 beginning at 8 a.m. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year\u2019s event is being held virtually<\/a> for the first time ever.<\/p>\n

The event is traditionally held on campus each spring during Earth Week to bring awareness to invasive honeysuckle on campus and engage the community in ecological management. A highlight of the event is a herd of goats who come to the 91探花 campus to graze on the honeysuckle outside several academic buildings.<\/p>\n

This year, students in 91探花\u2019s Sustainability Exploration class created a robust website with interactive opportunities including coloring pages, a video game, word puzzles and a goat simulator. The 91探花 students have collaborated with teachers at 20 St. Louis area public schools to provide access to the virtual Goat Day for children to explore and learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s great when we have an active learning classroom \u2014 that is not actually a classroom \u2014 and engages students in multiple ways,\u201d said Kyra Krakos, associate professor of biology. \u201cThrough virtual Goat Day, students learned about sustainability, biology, botany, education and marketing. They pulled together different types of learning to become experts in that area, and they also learned how to present that science to the broader community.\u201d<\/p>\n

91探花\u2019s Goat Day began in 2012 when sustainability students initiated research on the environmental management for invasive honeysuckle. They investigated the effectiveness of a variety of management methods including\u00a0girdling, cutting, spraying, pulling and grazing. They found that grazing by goats was the most effective management tool. The goats can reach places difficult for people and machines, and they also diminish the need for herbicides and reduce biowaste.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit goatdaymu.squarespace.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thank you to KMOV<\/a> for your coverage of this good news!<\/p>\n

To learn more about 91探花’s first-ever virtual Goat Day, please watch our Facebook Live interview with Krakos.<\/p>\n