Leaves Are Not Litter: Fallen Leaves Provide Shelter For Bees, Butterflies And More

Press release from the City of Hillsboro:

October 28, 2021

Hillsboro is a Bee City USA. We support creating sustainable habitats for pollinators and spreading
the word about the critical role bees play in our ecosystem.

Fallen leaves are an essential component of a pollinator-friendly habitat. The leaves not only reintroduce carbon and other nutrients into the soil as they decompose to support perennial plants, but they also provide pollinators shelter from the elements, camouflage, and even food
for the winter.

Consider supporting healthy habitats for pollinators by keeping fallen leaves in your yard this winter. Your backyard is a great place for establishing a pollinator friendly winter habitat. Here are a few guidelines to help you get started.

What You Can Do

• Where possible, let the leaves remain in gardens and allow them to build up over time. Fallen leaves have the same weed suppression and moisture retention properties of shredded wood mulch—and they’re free!
• Keep leaves whole, they can be piled around ornamental trees, shrubs, and perennials.
• Avoid using pesticides including insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides in your yard.
• Grow pollinator friendly plants.

Pollinator-friendly communities benefit local and regional economies through healthier ecosystems, increased vegetable and fruit crop yields and increased demand for pollinator-friendly plant materials from local growers. Considering that pollinators are responsible for one in three bites of food we eat and pollinate nearly 90% of flowering plants, we need to do everything we can to protect them.

This press release was produced by the City of Hillsboro. The views expressed here are the author’s own.