To the Editor:

If you like flowers, songbirds, butterflies, and reducing your carbon footprint, there is a simple way to help — leave the fall leaves in your yard instead of putting them at the curb for removal. In winter, they provide a necessary refuge for butterfly caterpillars, pollinators, and other beneficial insects who need them to overwinter, and which are a source of food for birds.

So, don’t rush to rake or blow the leaves from your lawn. Instead, a light layer of leaves on the grass can be shredded by mowing and left to nourish the soil (reducing the need for purchased fertilizer). Excess leaves can be placed around shrubs, garden beds, and the base of trees, serving as an excellent natural and free mulch, as well as a home for the above-mentioned creatures. Or, leaves can be left in a pile out of sight.

If we all join together to “leave the leaves,” we have the potential to save the energy costs of transporting them to another location, as well as to reduce the accompanying pollution.

Naomi Brahinsky
Franklin Avenue

Ann Summer
Cedar Lane

Ann Vaurio
Valley Road