For many people, fall cleanup means raking and disposing of the leaves that have tumbled from the trees. Join Extension Master Gardener Claudia Gerwin to learn about the many benefits of leaving the leaves to provide an overwintering habitat for pollinators and other invertebrates. You’ll learn how to best manage your leaves to improve the soil, suppress weeds, and retain moisture, and we’ll share tips on how to make leaf compost. If you leave the leaves, your landscape will reap the benefits of more pollinators, natural pest control and more abundant wildlife in the spring
Zoom session, October 3, 2025
Video of Presentation
Recommended Online Resources
- “Benefits of Leaf Mulch.” Cornell University
http://monroe.cce.cornell.edu/resources/benefits-of-leaf-mulching - “Homemade Potting Mix.” 2021. University of Florida Extension.
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn-and-garden/homemade-potting-mix/ - “Mulch Volcanoes Kill!” International Society of Arboriculture.
https://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/pesticides/documents2/master%20gardeners/mulch_volcano.pdf - “Volcano Mulching.” Richmond Tree Stewards.
http://richmondtreestewards.org/education/threats-to-trees/volcano-mulching - Bydyk, Emily. 2012. “Life in the Fallen Leaves.” 2012. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Vol 17, Issue 3, Fall 2012.
https://loudounwildlife.org/2012/10/life-in-the-fallen-leaves/ - Finneran, Rebecca. 2013. “Mulch leaves into turf for a smart lawn.” Michigan State University Extension
https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/files/Mulch_fallen_leavesRS.pdf - Goatley, Michael. 2020, “Leave Them Alone: Lawn Leaf Management.” Virginia Tech
https://mgnv.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/LeaveThemAloneLawnLeafManagement.pdf - Holm, Heather. Undated. Soft Landings, at Bee and Pollinator Books by Heather Holm.
https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/softlandings.html - Jeffers, Andrew. 2019. “What to do with all the leaves?” Home & Garden Information Center. Clemson University Extension.
https://hgic.clemson.edu/what-to-do-with-all-the-leaves/ - Johnson, Elizabeth A., Catley, Kefyn M., and Wynne, Patricia J. 2002. Life in the Leaf Litter. Center for Biodiversity & Conservation.
https://www.amnh.org/content/download/35188/518925/file/LifeInTheLeafLitter.pdf - Kluepfel, Marjan, et. al. 2016. “Mulch.” Home & Garden Information Center. Clemson University Extension.
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/mulch/ - Starbuck, Christopher. “Mulches.” University of Missouri Extension.
https://extension.Missouri.edu/publications/g6960 - Starbuck, Christopher. Making and Using Compost, University of Missouri Extension.
https://extension.Missouri.edu/g6956#methods - Tallamy, Doug. 2021. National Wildlife Federation: Garden for Wildlife YouTube channel. Native Keystone Plants for Wildlife. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5cXccWx030