Free cornstalks with goat-fund donations Oct. 14 at Bear Creek

       The Bear Creek Garden Association will give away cornstalks to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14.
       In return, the volunteer group will ask for “a nominal donation to our goat fund,” according to Char Nymann, president of the association.
       The fund - if enough money can be raised - will be used to cover the costs of having goats eat the weeds in a 20-acre area of Bear Creek Park that borders the garden. “We'd like to have them twice a year for several years,” she said.
       Under the association's agreement with the county, it can use organic methods (such as goats) for state-required toxic-weed control in that area. The county gives the association the same amount of money per acre that it uses for mowing and chemical spraying to keep weeds down elsewhere.
       Because goats cost more, the association has been unable to afford hiring goat-herders for the past two years. “This year we used our money to get somebody to mow it, and we had volunteers grubbing weeds out with hoes,” Nymann said.
       The garden is near the County Parks administration offices southeast of 21st and Rio Grande streets. For more information, call Nymann at 473-5827.

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