Leave the Leaves!

It’s that time of year again! Our beautiful neighborhood is changing with the season, and many gorgeous trees are dropping brightly colored leaves. I wanted to offer a gentle recommendation (supported by the USDA, Xerces Society, among many others) to leave the leaves.

Fallen leaves are a critical part of our local ecosystem

They provide winter habitat for pollinators, frogs, lizards, and turtles. Once broken down they provide a healthy (free!) dose of compost nutrients to your yard, and they help trap greenhouse gases. And best of all? Leaving them alone is free ninety nine, folks! 

Learn more about leaving the leaves on the Xerces Society site.

This message is from our Highland Park neighbor Mackenzie Kimmel, and was originally published on the HP listserv.