Sheep and cattle grazing in Green Park this week

Published on 20th August 2019 by ianVisits in London News

It’s “Green Park Grazing Week” this week, which means sheep and cattle will be roaming around the Royal Park munching away to keep the grasses low.

(c) Royal Parks

The idea of cattle grazing in the Royal Parks is as old as the parks themselves, but that fell out of favour with the arrival of machines that cut grass. However, there are wider benefits to the landscape from switching to the woolly form of lawnmower, so they’ve been reintroducing sheep to the parks.

During Green Park Grazing Week, rare breed sheep and cattle commute in daily from Mudchute Park and Farm on the Isle of Dogs to graze the park’s meadow just a short walk from the gates of Buckingham Palace.

The cattle and sheep are able to chew and digest the tough, hardy plants that can take over pastures and prevent other more delicate species from establishing, diversifying the food sources available for insects.

The animals also pass seeds and trample them into the soil, helping meadows to regenerate year after year. It’s not just a nice thing to do, as they are monitoring the impact on the areas grazed naturally versus cut with machines to check how natural grazing improves their biodiversity.

(c) Royal Parks

During the week, they aim to have Dexter cattle, Oxford Down sheep, Southdown sheep, Whitefaced Woodland sheep, Black Wensleydale sheep and Norfolk Horn sheep

There will also be a roadshow about the event on two days – 20th and 22nd August 11am-3pm – near to the sheep pen.

Tagged with Buckingham Palace, green park, Royal Parks

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2 Comments on “Sheep and cattle grazing in Green Park this week”

  1. Mental picture of chaos at the exit gates of Green park station when “sheep and cattle commute in daily from Mudchute Park and Farm on the Isle of Dogs” 🙂

  2. Great image Harry; from the cattle truck comparisons of the carriages to the rush-hour sheep being herded through the station tunnels.

    Not only will the animals chew the cud and pass and tread-in the seeds as mentioned, the very action of the cattle moo-ving through the park and the sheep gamboling about the grass will turn over the sod and uncover long-buried rarer plants giving them the chance to run the race to the light and occasionally win it too.
    If just one apocryphal child is woken up to the fact that milk comes from udders and teats before the plastic bottle, then so much the better.
    In short, a win for ewe and me, a win baa none. Hmm…