{"341951":{"#nid":"341951","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Little Sheep Goes a Long Way in Managing Kudzu","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESome things are best left to nature, and controlling invasive vegetation is no exception.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p4\u0022\u003EUsing an environmentally friendly approach to rid an area on campus of kudzu, Georgia Tech is hosting several four-legged, wooly friends over the next two weeks to assist in removing \u2014 or eating \u2014 the rapidly growing weed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cDeploying sheep to help manage vegetation is a very sustainable and effective solution for keeping kudzu under control,\u201d said Anne Boykin-Smith of Capital Planning and Space Management (CPSM). \u201cThe sheep love to eat kudzu. But, unlike goats, sheep are more selective and don\u2019t eat the bark or buds on nearby plants and trees.\u201d Kudzu is also a good source of protein for sheep diets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ELast summer, a collaborative effort began between CPSM and Facilities Management\u2019s Design and Construction team to identify overgrown areas and develop a sustainable solution to the kudzu on campus. Kudzu, originally brought to the U.S. from Japan as an ornamental shrub useful in stopping soil erosion, has become a nuisance in the South due to its invasive nature. It can grow up to a foot per day and quickly take over trees. In the age-old struggle with kudzu, traditional herbicides are often used, but chemical treatments produce toxic runoff and are not always effective. Plus, traditional treatments leave behind dead organic material, which can turn into a fire hazard in times of drought.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cUsing sheep is a good closed-loop way to take care of kudzu without using fossil fuel energy,\u201d said Marc Weissburg, professor in the School of Biology and co-director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Design. \u201cIt shows we take our institutional commitment to sustainability seriously when we are actually making sustainable choices.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIt generally takes sheep no more than two weeks to defoliate a one-acre area. Like most removal systems, it will take repeated treatments, possibly three, to fully deplete the stored root reserves and kill the persistent kudzu plants. The sheep are scheduled to return to campus in the spring for a second grazing period.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cFor now, if you see sheep grazing, please let them be,\u201d Boykin-Smith said. \u201cThey have important work to do.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESome things are best left to nature, and controlling invasive\u0026nbsp;vegetation is no exception.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Some things are best left to nature, and controlling invasive vegetation is no exception."}],"uid":"27164","created_gmt":"2014-11-06 17:17:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:26","author":"Rachael Pocklington","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"342661":{"id":"342661","type":"image","title":"Sheep Help Control Campus Kudzu","body":null,"created":"1449245639","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:13:59","changed":"1475895062","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:02","alt":"Sheep Help Control Campus Kudzu","file":{"fid":"200814","name":"15c10301-p2-002-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10301-p2-002-1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10301-p2-002-1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1618740,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10301-p2-002-1_0.jpg?itok=evpWrtlw"}},"342671":{"id":"342671","type":"image","title":"Sheep Help Control Campus Kudzu","body":null,"created":"1449245639","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:13:59","changed":"1475895062","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:02","alt":"Sheep Help Control Campus Kudzu","file":{"fid":"200815","name":"15c10301-p2-013-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10301-p2-013-1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10301-p2-013-1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1805012,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10301-p2-013-1_0.jpg?itok=SMKcE_nf"}},"342691":{"id":"342691","type":"image","title":"Sheep Help Control Campus Kudzu","body":null,"created":"1449245639","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:13:59","changed":"1475895062","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:02","alt":"Sheep Help Control Campus Kudzu","file":{"fid":"200817","name":"15c10301-p2-009-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10301-p2-009-1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10301-p2-009-1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1033716,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10301-p2-009-1_0.jpg?itok=z72jBGyx"}},"342681":{"id":"342681","type":"image","title":"Sheep Help Control Campus Kudzu","body":null,"created":"1449245639","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:13:59","changed":"1475895062","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:02","alt":"Sheep Help Control Campus Kudzu","file":{"fid":"200816","name":"15c10301-p2-003-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10301-p2-003-1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10301-p2-003-1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1925068,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10301-p2-003-1_0.jpg?itok=C8lFapgP"}}},"media_ids":["342661","342671","342691","342681"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/space.gatech.edu\/","title":"Capital Planning and Space Management"},{"url":"http:\/\/facilities.gatech.edu\/","title":"Facilities"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"108731","name":"kudzu"},{"id":"1990","name":"landscaping"},{"id":"166921","name":"sheep"},{"id":"171381","name":"sustainable solutions"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnne Boykin-Smith, RLA LEED AP \u003Cbr \/\u003EMaster Planner\u003Cbr \/\u003ECapital Planning and Space Management \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:anne.smith@cpsm.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eanne.smith@cpsm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}