Published on August 31, 2026
From the St. Charles Natural Resources Commission: Leave the Leaves
By Lee Haggas, Natural Resources Commissioner
It is rapidly approaching the time of year when most homeowners start to obsess over their annual fall yard clean-up. Summer blooms are fading and the plants that support them are toppling. Gardeners look at their yards and think that somebody has to clean up this mess. Some do it themselves, but increasingly, others are hired to do this instead. It seems that less and less people are hand raking fallen leaves. Raking has been replaced by leaf blowers that create a cacophony that is annoying and disturbing but tolerated for the sake of a pristine outdoor environment.
This mindset must change. The climate is rapidly warming. Each summer sees new record high temperatures and each storm is more destructive than the last. The burning of fossil fuels creates atmospheric gases that trap the sun’s UV rays in a sort of smothering blanket around the earth – the “greenhouse gases.” This practice may have started with the Industrial Revolution, but it is perpetuated through the continued use of even small, hand-held machines. Around the globe, it seems that some political leaders have shown an unwillingness to address the problem, so individuals must do their part to start the healing process.
This brings us back to leaving the leaves. When leaves fall, leave them where they fall. Don’t blow them away. They are a free, excellent source of nutrients for our gardens and create a nourishing habitat for the invertebrates that keep all other animals – including humans – alive. When leaves stay on the ground, it eliminates the need for a gas-fired leaf blower to move them around and a gas-powered truck to haul them away to a landfill. It may not seem like much, but it is a start.
Leave the leaves, please.