Sheep. Sheeps. Sheepsies. Sheepseses. Shoops. However you want to pluralize it, they'll be around to greet you this summer. Three Montreal parks will host roaming sheep between June and September 2022.

In addition to their now annual season-long appearance in Parc Maisonneuve, sheep will be roaming Parcs du Chevalier-Cuivré and André-Corbeil-dit-Tranchemontagne in Rivière-des-Prairies from June 5 to July 24 as part of a pilot project.

The sheep are from Biquette, an organization which advocates for eco-grazing — using animals instead of machinery to tend greenspaces. Online, Biquette says the benefits of the practice include a reduction in air and sound pollution, as well as increased biodiversity thanks to animal droppings.

This will be the fifth year sheep are present in Parc Maisonneuve. The city hasn't published this year's program yet. In years past, the sheep grazing grounds have been host to public workshops and yoga sessions.

The site is dedicated more widely to familiarizing the public with eco-farming. In 2021, a henhouse and beehive accompanied the sheep. Collective gardening bins, an "educational checkerboard of ground covers," info panels, medical plants, and a self-service loom lined the sheep enclave.

The pilot project in Rivière-des-Prairies is in its second year.

Get the details on the two projects below.