In a move that marks the end of an era or at least a brief chapter in ungulate-based landscaping, the University of Oxford has quietly retired its flock of grass-munching sheep that had been moonlighting as eco-friendly lawnmowers at the university’s Wytham Woods research site. These ruminant groundskeepers had been chomping their way through the undergrowth since late 2021 as part of a sustainability experiment aimed at reducing the need for carbon-belching mowers and injecting a bit of rustic charm into academic greenspace maintenance. Alas, the sheep have now made their graceful exit, with the university confirming that the program concluded in the latter part of 2023 and citing an already brimming calendar of environmental projects as the reason no further sheep-based landscaping is currently on the docket.
According to a statement likely drafted by someone with both degrees and deep regret for ever having to explain sheep to a risk assessment officer, the university assured the public that the woolly workforce had made a “valuable contribution” to biodiversity and sustainability during their tenure. Unfortunately for fans of ovine chic, it seems Oxford’s land management strategy is now embracing other, presumably less wool-covered methods. With no major financial savings recorded and some logistical wrinkles such as fencing, transportation, and the precarious balance between animal welfare and public picnics, the sheep were gently shown the pasture, metaphorically speaking.
The pilot program had also attracted public and media attention for being Britain’s most genteel answer to the question of what to do with grass, and whether sheep might do it better than machines. It turns out the answer is a resounding “sort of, but let’s not make it a habit.” While the university has not completely ruled out future four-legged weed whackers, it appears for now the sheep have been herded out of Oxford’s grand sustainability ambitions, their place taken by less endearing but more manageable strategies like planting trees and monitoring soil carbon.
Wytham Woods, the charmingly biodiverse patch of land owned by the university since 1942, remains a hive of ecological research, with the sheep’s departure now just another footnote in its long history. The grounds will continue their academic journey under the scrutiny of scientists, students, and the occasional jogger wondering where all the sheep went.
For now, Oxford’s lawns will once again be trimmed by humans and machinery, which, while marginally less adorable, are considerably less prone to wandering into someone’s thesis presentation.
After all, nothing says academic excellence like outsourcing your landscaping to livestock.