The city of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., is welcoming back some popular summer residents.

Fifty sheep arrived in the city on Saturday to begin their summer work as living lawn mowers, a tradition that started in 1992.

The sheep will spend four days a week eating the grass at sites throughout the city, including Legacy Park, the Fort Saskatchewan Museum and Historic Site, and the Nordic Ski Centre.

Diane Yanch with the city said the sheep are also a tourist attraction.

"We have people from all over the world, actually, that do come to Fort Saskatchewan just to see the sheep," she said.

"I know that sounds crazy, but we've had people from Germany and Switzerland, that I can remember, that have come when they heard about the sheep program."

Yanch said the city has even found a way to deal with the natural byproducts of having a herd of sheep in the park.

"That was probably the biggest concern when the program first started," she said.

"It was like 'What are we going to do with all the sheep droppings that are around?' But they dry up so quickly and fertilize the grass that you don't even notice they're there."

Three shepherds along with several dogs will keep an eye on the herd and a donkey has been recruited to guard the sheep from coyotes.

Fort Saskatchewan is about 32 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.