In a city that is known for its progressiveness, Paris will now be employing sheep to mow its lawns.
Well, one lawn to be correct, in the 19th arrondissement, outside the municipal archives building. It’s just one more innovation under Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë who has brought bike share, expanded bike lanes, and Plage Paris–closed roads alone the Seine River in the summer time, to be replaced by improvised beaches.
The new eco-grazers will be in charge of mowing the lawn outside the archives, an experiment that will be expanded to other green areas, such as the parks Bois de Vincenne, and Bois de
Bologne, and other fields that need tending. They’ll need to keep a 2,000 square meter lawn neat and “cut” to keep their jobs.
The ewes called Ouessant, who are short and dark brown, will replace noisy, smelly, gasoline guzzling lawn mowers.
Guards parked nearby who work there anyway, will keep a watchful eye should someone decide they want to make sheep patisserie one night. The sheep will also allow gardeners to avoid using harmful herbicides and other chemicals.
See more stories in the NY Times and on BBC News.
