10/29/2026
🍂 Leaves may be falling, but don’t rush to clear them away!
Burning or bagging and hauling away leaves means removing valuable nutrients that help keep soil healthy. It also removes important winter habitat for some bees, butterflies, moths and fireflies. 🐝🦋
Here are some tips for “leaving the leaves”:
✅ Keep them onsite: Rake as many leaves as possible into existing garden beds and around trees. Leaves can also be added to a compost pile for nutrient-rich soil in spring.
✅ Expand garden beds: If you still have leaves to spare, this is a great opportunity to expand your garden area! Thick piles of leaves can smother grass and leave you with garden beds to plant native plants next year.
✅ Mow mindfully: In areas you don’t want the lawn smothered, mulch-mow and leave shredded leaves in place for the winter to break down naturally and give your yard those beneficial nutrients.
✅ Create a leaf refuge: Avoid mowing your entire lawn at once. If possible, leave one-third to half of the area unmowed as habitat for overwintering pollinators and insects, or stagger mowing times to reduce habitat disruption.
These tips will help you maintain your yard to support backyard biodiversity while keeping leaves away from places we don’t want them - like storm drains and lakes. Pick the approach that works best for your yard!
