Today’s Solutions: February 19, 2025

Somewhere along the way, much of the rough and tumble beauty of the American landscape turned into cookie-cutter manicured lawns. It’s like homeownership now comes with explicit directions: There will be a white picket fence surrounding a plot of tidy grass; there will be no weeds and there will be no, gasp, fallen autumn leaves. This is problematic for a number of reasons.

One main reason is that all those fallen leaves are highly beneficial for your lawn, acting as natural fertilizer and mulch. By raking all that leaf litter, you not only remove those natural benefits but also leave yourself with the need to buy mulch.

Another good reason to keep all those leaves in place is that butterflies and songbirds depend on those leaves doing the winter. Over the winter months, “a lot of butterflies and moths, as pupa or caterpillar, are in the leaf litter.” By raking, you are destroying moth and butterfly habitat, which means fewer pollinators come spring. And that also means fewer things for birds to eat, which means birds will be less attracted to your garden.

Seldom do you get the chance to be lazy and protect your local ecosystem. Here’s one of those opportunities.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

England’s largest bird sanctuary expands as a haven for wildlife and rewilding

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a major victory for conservation and rewilding, RSPB Geltsdale in the north Pennines has grown by a ...

Read More

Drinking more green tea each day may help protect against dementia

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If you need another reason to reach for that soothing cup of green tea, here it is: a ...

Read More

Washing your hands often? Here’s how to keep your skin healthy

With the COVID-19 outbreak, experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are encouraging everyone to ...

Read More

Pakistan’s Billion Tree project is bringing the bees and honey back

In 2018, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the Billion Tree project, a lofty country-wide effort to plant 10 billion trees over a 5-year ...

Read More