Bronxville Green Committee Says Love Your Leaves

In the fall 2010, it cost the Village of Bronxville $100,000 to dispose of all the dead leaves that fell from its trees. If you think that’s an awful lot to pay for cleaning up a bunch of leaves, rest assured, you are not alone.

In fact, the Bronxville Green Committee has been hard at work since this past February trying to come up with a solution to this rather costly inconvenience – if you can call a natural occurrence an inconvenience. Their suggestion is quite simple, and offers major benefits to everyone in the equation: Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em.

The initiative, which Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin, the Board of Trustees and the Department of Public Works have all endorsed, has been springing up in communities all over Westchester, and despite being in its early stages, is quickly gaining advocates and supporters of all backgrounds.

Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em, or LELE, encourages local residents to mulch the leaves on their properties, either by using a mulching mower or shredder, or by telling their landscapers to do so. Leaves will be reduced almost to a dust, and by breaking down and remaining on the grass blades will return vital nutrients to the soil underneath. Most importantly, mulching can reduce a property’s removal bags from 10 to one, and cut costly dumping fees. As Chairwoman of the Bronxville Green Committee Mary Liz Mulligan sees it, LELE represents a quick and easy action all can take part in.

“Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em fit in with our mission in that we as a committee are tying to pick projects that are simple, reasonable and not out of reach to all residents to practice,” Mulligan said.

Mulching your leaves this fall can also act as an important flood mitigation strategy, as fallen leaves often block drains and add to potential flooding. The nutrients provided by the broken down leaves can also remove the need for chemical fertilizers, saving residents more money and further protecting the environment.

In the hopes of spreading the word about this initiative – and reaching the people who often times are the ones directly involved – the Green Committee will be holding an informational session open to landscapers who work Village properties, at Village Hall on August 9^th at 4 p.m. The session will include a demonstration from a local landscaper on the front lawn as well as a Q&A session. The Committee has sent out close to 70 invitations to local landscaping companies for the event, although they have yet to receive a single RSVP, something Mulligan says is somewhat to be expected considering the particular time of the year. Follow-up phone calls will be made by Committee members to all the landscapers on the list.

“The hardest part of getting the word out for this particular initiative is the time of the year,” Mulligan said. “We have been working on it since February but the actual push to get the information out will happen shortly before the leaves start falling right after Labor Day week. The reason we are holding a landscaper only meeting is because many landscapers do not practice LELE and may not be aware of the benefits. As for our residents, I was quite pleasantly surprised at the interest level in the Village as to making their own environment greener.”

All Bronxville Village properties will be treated according to the LELE initiative this fall, which Mulligan says should go a long way in achieving the Committee’s goal of a 20% reduction in leaf removal for the fall of 2011. In addition to next week’s session and demonstration for landscapers, the Committee will also hold a similar event on September 14 geared toward homeowners.

Members of Bronxville High School’s Environmental Club have recently signed on as members of the Green Committee, something Mulligan hopes will help spread the word about eco-friendly initiatives like LELE and show local residents that everyone can contribute to the Committee’s mission.

“I am very pleased at the interest in the Bronxville High School students,” Mulligan said. “I am pleased that these kids realize it is their world and their future and they are the ones who need to take care of their earth. Our mission is to educate residents, not shove anything down their throat. What we have found from our discussions is that we are traveling back in time, doing things the way they were done years ago. I think we all have to come to the realization that the quick and easy fix is not always the best solution for us and our planet.”

Although not directly related, the LELE initiative comes on the back of a new , prohibiting the use of leaf blowers in the Village between June 1 and September 30. Under the new law, first time offenders will be charged a $250 penalty. Repeat violaters can be charged up to $1,000.

For more information on how you can take part in the Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em initiative or future Bronxville Green Committee events email BronxvilleGreenCommittee@gmail.com.