Notes from Lead Naturalist & Wildlife Care Specialist

Leave the Leaves by Emily Hutto

Autumn is finally here!  If you’re like me, it’s your favorite time of the year - sweater weather, sipping a warm pumpkin spice latte, upcoming holidays, the leaves changing color, the crisp air…and a yard full of fallen leaves to rake up….right?

Raking leaves is an autumn chore that many people dread. Hundreds of leaves, littering your yard, just waiting for you to spend hours on a Saturday raking and bagging them up when you would much rather be doing anything else. What if I told you that you didn’t have to rake up those leaves - and even better, you shouldn’t rake them up? By simply leaving them alone and not doing a dreaded chore, you could help save the environment!