Leave the Leaves – Mocofeed

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by Amythest Lee 

Croydon Creek Nature Center sits within Rockville Civic Center Park, along the edge of the 120-acre John G. Hayes Forest Preserve. The center is free, open to the public and features exhibits, live animal ambassadors, scenic trails and year-round programs and events. Sign up for the nature center’s quarterly e-newsletter and stay up to date on events and programs. 

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As the seasons change and leaves fall, many people wonder, “What should I do with all these leaves?”  

More often than not, bags full of leaves and branches end up on the curb to be taken to a landfill. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, leaves and yard debris account for more than 13% (33 million tons) of solid waste in the United States each year. Without enough oxygen to break down, yard debris produces the greenhouse gas methane. Methane has a global warming potential 28-34 times that of carbon dioxide. Solid waste landfills are the largest U.S. source of man-made methane. 

So, what can you do with your leaves besides sending them to a landfill? You could do a craft like the one we suggest in this very newsletter, use whole leaves as mulch or compost or leave them alone to provide pollinator habitat. Not many people think of fall and winter as a time for pollinators, but fallen leaves provide them habitat and cover as it starts to get colder. If you put effort into making a pollinator garden in the spring, you’re throwing away all your hard work when you discard the leaves in your yard in the fall. Removing pollinators’ fall and winter habitat cuts out a crucial part of their life cycle and gets rid of most of the beautiful moths and butterflies we love to see flying around in the spring. 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has a campaign called “Leave the Leaves” that encourages people to leave fallen leaves where they lie to help pollinators and other invertebrates. Unlike Monarch butterflies that migrate south for the winter, a majority of butterflies and moths stay in the same place. They overwinter as an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis or adult and use fallen leaves as cover from the cold. Luna moths and swallowtail butterflies even disguise their cocoons and chrysalises as dried leaves, so unfortunately, they often get sent to the landfill along with other “leaf litter”. At the end of summer, mated queen bumble bees burrow an inch or two into the ground and use leaves for cover. Other bees spend the cold months in hollow stems. Bee blocks and bee hotels are well and good, but natural leaf litter is better for overwintering invertebrates because it more closely mimics their natural habitat. It also breaks down over time which prevents disease and parasites. So many other animals depend on leaves: spiders, snails, worms, beetles, millipedes and more that in turn provide food for mammals, birds and amphibians. Eastern box turtles will even dig into leaves and soil.  

Not only do leaves benefit pollinators, other invertebrates and various wildlife, it benefits you to leave them as well. Fallen leaves have the same weed suppression and moisture retention properties of shredded wood mulch and they’re free! In that same cost-saving vein, you can make your own compost with fallen leaves and grass clippings. It is best to wait until late spring to add leaves to compost to ensure the butterflies and moths using the leaves are gone. If you add them earlier, use whole leaves instead of shredding them so you don’t accidentally kill any living invertebrates or eggs. Keep the pile moist and well mixed and you’ll have nutrient rich compost ready for the garden. Contrary to popular belief, leaving a thin layer of leaves won’t kill your lawn; it will benefit it. If too many fall on your lawn, you can pile the extras around trees or shrubs. They won’t hurt your plants: a thick layer of leaves protects your newly planted perennials against the cold and keeps frost from reaching the tender roots.  

It can be difficult to resist social pressure to keep your yard looking “clean,” but messiness is natural. While a neatly manicured lawn may look nice to us, it is detrimental to local wildlife and your own yard. If you get rid of your leaves you are removing habitat for many of the important animals that help pollinate your plants, provide pest control in your garden and help build healthy soils. If you feel you have to clear your lawn, use a rake or leaf vacuum to keep the leaves whole and create a pile in the corner of your lawn. Let the leaf piles decompose; the leaf mold produced can be used as a soil amendment to improve its structure and water retention.  

There are other ways to keep your yard a place for wildlife without losing any of its use or bringing on the wrath of your homeowners’ association. You can leave your wildflowers to seed for birds and let your vegetable garden bolt (produce flowers) for pollinators to use.  Place leaves and trimmed branches in a small pile at the edge of your yard or in your garden beds. If you do decide to remove the leaves, wait until late spring to allow for the successful emergence of butterflies and moths. You can then put leftover leaves in your compost bin to make nutrient rich soil for your garden. Also, where leaves come in contact with soil, you will likely find lots of worms that will improve your soil quality. Some people let their neighbors know what they’re doing to help spread the word and promote these ecologically minded garden practices. This notification could be as simple as putting up a “pollinator habitat” sign. What you are doing is just an extension of the gardening process that ensures all of those beautiful flowers and pollinators you see in the spring have a healthy life.  

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“Leave the leaves” does not mean you have to ignore them and leave them where they fell. You can move them to places in your yard where they are out of the way and will still help wildlife. The availability of nesting and overwintering habitat is one of the most important factors influencing populations of native bees and other beneficial insects. If you put in the work of planting a pollinator garden, don’t let it go to waste by getting rid of pollinator habitat in the fall and winter! All wildlife needs a place to live, especially when it starts to get cold and gray outside. If everyone kept even a small amount of their leaves and branches, we would take a lot of the burden off waste management systems and reduce the amount of waste going into landfills while protecting local wildlife. 

Sources: Xerces Society and National Wildlife Federation 

For more info: https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-014.pdf  

Also: https://xerces.org/blog/leave-the-leaves

Read the original article at rockville