Take An Eco-Friendly Approach to your Fall Leaf Cleanup

It’s time to rethink the whole process of fall cleanup. While raking your lawn and tidying your garden may be top of mind before winter strikes, the reality is the traditional approach to leaf cleanup may be doing more harm than good to the environment.

Those fallen, rotting leaves are home to important pollinators, butterfly larvae, microbes and worms. In fact, leaf litter is where many species of insects (the good kind — those that add to the biodiversity of your neighbourhood’s plant life) spend the winter. Birds building nests may also use different bits of leaf litter as nesting material.

So, what can you do instead of piling your leaves into bags? Here are a few eco-friendly ideas.

Use leaves as mulch for your planter beds: Can’t stand the idea of a lawn full of leaves? Does your homeowner association require you to clean up your lawn? Rake leaves off of the lawn and add them to your planter beds for organic mulch that will protect your plants all winter long.

Mulch leaves on your lawn: Use your mower to mulch leaves on your lawn to protect it from winter damage and fertilize the soil.

Add leaves to your composter: Do you have a backyard composter? Rake your leaves and add them to your mixture to create a rich, biodiverse soil for next year.
Want to be a more eco-friendly homeowner? We have lots of resources to help you improve your impact at rlp.ca/homeowner-tips.