Environmental Writer, Activist and Resident Smart Ass

Environmental Writer, Activist and Resident Smart Ass

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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Thanks Bob Vila

     You can always rely on Bob Vila. I just read an article from the House Guru that explains why you don't have to rake leaves every Fall. You can turn them into nutrient rich compost, mulch them with a mower and return the nutrients they contain right back to the soil. Its cheaper, its better for the environment and its easier on your back.

     Back in 2013, I did a project with the Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy. Our goal was to get people to keep their leaves out of their driveway, off the sidewalks so they did not blow into the streets. Leaves contain nitrogen and phosphorus, which are released into open waters when they wash into storm drains or blow down the street into the rivers. Many people were just blowing their leaves into the street and forgetting about them. That can have a not-so-good effect on water quality, where the water column gets overloaded with nutrients it can't handle.

     One of our points to local residents in Annapolis, MD was that they could bag their leaves, compost them and put them back into their gardens as fertilizer. Or they could mulch them with the lawnmower, putting those vital nutrients back into the lawn. Before humans came around, trees dropped their leaves and the ground used those nutrients. Then, humans started worrying about how ugly their lawns looked with all those leaves strewn about. In order to show more green grass, we disrupted the cycle.

     Now, I'm not saying leaves are the reason water quality is so bad in many places, like where I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay. But, decomposing leaves certainly contribute. Humans have cleared forests and built homes, cut roads through the woods, eliminated riparian buffers along streams and rivers, which has allowed the leaves to get blown out of the forest. Instead of putting those vital minerals and elements back in the ground for the trees and animals and bacteria and other decomposers to break them down, they blow into the water.

     You can help by reusing your leaves on your lawn, and save some money on fertilizer and broken rake handles. Who would have thought that not raking leaves actually helps your lawn look great? Your back will thank you.

     To learn more about how human activities affect water quality, or to learn how to become a Master Watershed Steward, visit www.aawsa.org




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