My yard is graced by three giant Norway maples with an abundance of very large leaves that make a huge “mess” when they fall; yet I do not believe the leaf-bagging ordinance foretells the coming of the apocalypse.
Once I visited Kansas City, Missouri at leaf-bagging time. The neighborhood featured old houses, small yards and huge sweet gum and black walnut trees. Leaves and fruits were everywhere. Everyone got their bags and got going. Over several days, my husband and I helped our hosts, and then helped an older man living next door. Some people raked, while others rounded up the leaves with a leaf-blower before transferring into the bags. It really didn’t seem so onerous.
Bags are an imperfect solution with environmental costs. Seeing fallen leaves as a resource for sustainable gardening can help minimize their use. Using leaves in garden beds and under trees and shrubs is ideal. Composting at home also helps. Some people run their lawn mowers over the dry leaves in the grass for free fertilizer. My husband and I subscribe to the village composting service. Every week, in addition to food scraps and yard waste, I pile in leaves that didn’t make it to the garden beds. We don’t try to rake all at once but do so gradually, as leaves fall. We roll the bin into the front yard and then back to the alley. Last year I’m not sure we put much, if anything, in the street. My garden is thriving, thanks to the nutrients and mulching the leaves provide.
It can be hard to change long-settled habits, practices and assumptions — and even cultural and aesthetic values and beliefs — that surround yard care. It can seem difficult to try a new approach. If you’d like to learn more about sustainable gardening and how leaf management plays a key role, Oak Park Climate Action Network has a group of climate coaches who can help. Or you can contact West Cook Wild Ones for advice and encouragement.
After all, a leaf-bagging ordinance doesn’t necessarily mean you actually have to bag the leaves.
Adrian Ayres Fisher
Oak Park