Fall is one of my all-time favorite seasons, the atmosphere, the views, the trees, and the countless piles of leaves gathered because of trees shedding off leaves to grow new ones. We, humans, decide to go for a raking job to bag them up and throw them away. The thing is, not raking the leaves has its own fair share of benefits that can really blow your mind. Without further ado, here are 6 benefits of not raking leaves in fall.
1. The Ecosystem
The ecosystem is connected in a complex and intimate-ish way, that is why the smallest changes have big effects on things. Yes, if you thought about raking and disturbance, then you got things right because disturbing leaves means disturbing the trees which means disturbing the ecosystem (every area that has trees growing has a leaf layer with few inches in depth).
2. Wildlife Habitats
The piles of leaves are not there for decoration because they are homes to many animals like shrews, chipmunks, toads, salamanders, earthworms, and box turtles that rely on the leaf piles to get food and shelter. If you want to protect their habitats, be sure to leave the leaves the way they are.
3. Natural Fertilizer
Organic matter is very important to soils and to weed growth prevention in the spring. That is why you should leave the piles of leaves the way they are because when they decompose, they become an organic matter that the soil can exploit.
4. Birds And Butterflies
The fallen leaves can actually attract butterflies and leaves, and when we do the raking thing we do, we unintentionally get rid of moth pupae and butterflies (this reduces their population in your area especially birds because they look for caterpillars to present as food for their children).
5. Waste
When we throw away the leaves, we basically create a lot of waste that can not only damage us, but the entire planet as well.
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