As winter approaches, several home owners will be raking leaves into piles and clearing their yards of waste before the snow hits. However, the Nature Conservancy of Canada is here to tell you that might not be necessary. When it comes to autumn, being a little lazy might actually pay off. 

“I think a lot of us have this conception of our lawns and our backyards as sort of extensions of our living rooms. When in fact, they're part of nature, they're part of urban nature. We need to recognize the natural cycles that go on outside our windows and part of that is the decomposition of the leaves that fall from our trees,” said Jensen Edwards, National Media Relations Manager for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. 

He says there are several benefits to leaving the foliage where it falls.

“When a leaf falls and decomposes into our soil, it enriches the soil but while it's doing that, it also offers habitat to small critters like butterflies and moths that are overwintering which in turn, are food for birds in the winter time. There's these grand cycles that happen right outside our windows. By raking everything or leaf blowing everything you’re sort of disrupting those cycles a little bit,” he explained. 

Edwards noted that it might be wise to ensure there are not large piles of leaves throughout your yard as thick piles may cause a large soggy patch come spring time. Additionally, large piles of pine needles is not good for soil due to their acidity but pine needles can add special nutrients to mulch.  Leaving foliage around the base of a tree can also protect them from during the freeze thaw cycle. 

He believes it’s easy to forget the smaller creatures who call our yards their home as well. The Nature Conservancy of Canada believes backyard biodiversity is important. 

“Every part plays a role. You see birds come visit our bird feeders and live in our trees. We know that nature is right there and definitely by recognizing our role and our impacts in it. We can do these small acts of conservation like leaving the leaves and being a bit lazy and actually play a role in helping nature thrive everywhere,” said Edwards.