How to leave the leaves…and why!
Currently, only 5% (or 25,000 households) in Fairfax County receive vacuum leaf collection services. Franklin Park and Forest are in this small slice. The County proposed ending this service completely, but will postpone that decision until after the 2023-2024 season. So…what to do then? Read on!
Did you hear? Fairfax County has proposed cutting leaf collection services and will most likely no longer collect leaves from curb sides after the 2023-2024 season. They say they’re doing this to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move towards zero-waste outcomes. Fairfax County is encouraging us to buy leaf shredders and to compost leaves on our property.
But what does that mean in practice? What are we to do with the piles of leaves that accumulate so quickly in our yards? We know it might be easiest to hire a leaf removal service, but that would only bring more gas and electric blowers, trucks, and traffic to Franklin Park.
Luckily there are families all over Franklin Park doing things differently and eager to share their techniques. Here are a few:
Shred the leaves on your lawn and leave them there. They’ll decompose by spring.
Let the leaves stay in your garden beds. They’ll settle in and also decompose by spring.
Make a pile! Load leaves from walkways and surfaces onto a 10’x10’ area or around a tree (see pic!) and enjoy free mulch in the spring.
Families are doing this because it’s good for the neighborhood and for the planet. The County website says that seasonal leaf vacuuming “is not necessary to maintain healthy trees, has negative environmental impacts, detracts from the County’s core residential trash collection service, and creates public safety challenges.”
So…leave the leaves! Leaves are a natural habitat for butterflies, salamanders, chipmunks, box turtles, toads, shrews, earthworms and others. They lay eggs in the leaves and feed on and under the leaf layer – look for earthworms in the spring and enjoy more fireflies next summer!
There are still plenty of leaves that need to come down. Take the opportunity to rake a mound around one tree or shrub to have more wildlife in the spring!