Goats, sheep take charge of Keeseville cemetery clean-up
By Teah Dowling, The Sun Community News
KEESEVILLE | Nestled behind an apartment complex on Liberty Street is a cemetery forgotten by time, and Cemetery Revival, with the help of a herd of goats and sheep, is working to turn back time.
The Old Burial Ground dates back all the way to 1811, with the last person being buried there in 1889. There are 208 plots, but it’s hard to tell since the graveyard has become overgrown with grass, poison ivy, shrubs, and trees.
Cemetery Revival, a volunteer-based group dedicated to restoring graveyards, recently took on the responsibility of bringing back to life the forgotten burial site. To do so, however, they needed a little extra help to get started.
The group appointed Banjo Acres, a farm based in Malone that offers goat and sheep grazing for land management. “Bringing in [equipment like] tractors and mowers until you can see where the stones are is more likely to do more damage,” said Chris Abbott, who runs the farm along with his wife, Robin. “That’s where the animals come in.”
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