Struuvik and Fraunik the goats to help out at Tartu Observatory this month
This Saturday (July 5), two goats from Tootsi Farm – Struuvik and Fraunik – will take up residency outside the Tartu Observatory. The goats will spend the next two weeks on site trimming the lawn, though if there is still enough grass and hay to eat after that, a longer stay has not been ruled out.
Part of the Tartu Observatory's courtyard will be fenced off especially for Struuvik and Fraunik. Visitors to the observatory will still be able to enter to see the current exhibition "Asteroids – Threat or Opportunity?" together with the goats.
The museum staff prefer to use the goats' more official-sounding names "Struuvik" and "Fraunik" after Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve and Joseph von Fraunhofer, both of whom played an important role in the observatory's history. However, they have also been affectionately nicknamed "Tiiu" and "Merru" by the observatory's landlady.
"While today we often rejoice at the squirrels and bats on Toomemägi, historically there were also domestic animals living here - both when Toomemägi was inhabited and when it was just a wasteland. At that time, the area was used as pasture for cows and goats. Now that we really value environmentally friendly lawn care, it's high time to bring the goats back here," said Mariann Raisma, director of the University of Tartu Museum.
According to Elin Silla, senior research project officer at the University of Tartu, bringing livestock in to maintain green spaces in cities promotes biodiversity and is also beneficial for the mental and physical health of the people who live there.
"Livestock do not produce tiresome noise or polluting exhaust fumes. The grasslands they maintain also provide habitats and opportunities for many other smaller species, which greatly enhances the biodiversity of the site," Silla explained.
Visitors will be allowed to gently pet Struuvik and Fraunik – if the two goats allow them. However, feeding them is strictly prohibited.
The goats will be at Toomemägi as part of the Tartu Green Ring project, which aims to increase the city's biodiversity, create a network of interconnected green spaces, mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure a good living environment for everyone.
As part of the same project, a flock of Gotland sheep from Tootsi Farm were previously brought to the green area in Maarjamõisa to help out.
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Editor: Michael Cole
