![]() This is something recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to improve biodiversity, a topic discussed in the Environmental Issues class that Thomas teaches as part of SRU's online master's in park and resource management.Īccording to the DCNR, there are more than 2 million acres of lawns in Pennsylvania, a state in which about 80% of the land is privately owned. Reducing lawn size is something that Thomas practices, as she is using her property for more garden beds and layering them with leaves as compost. Mowing the leaves, especially with a mulching lawnmower, is an option because that deposits the carbon-rich leaves back into the ground without smothering the lawn and potentially preventing grass growing again in the spring. And once (bagged leaves) get to the landfill, they're going to be breaking down in an environment that is low in oxygen and that's going to lead to the release of methane, which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change." "Burning leaves leads to air pollution and fire hazards and it also releases particles into the air that can cause problems for people with respiratory issues, which is definitely not something we want to be doing when we're already dealing with COVID-19. "Two of the options that are not the best in terms of environmental consciousness are burning the leaves, which a lot of people do, or bagging them up, putting them in the trash and sending them to the landfill," Thomas said. Laurence and Thomas offer options, beginning with the least desirable. This doesn't mean that homeowners should just "leave" well enough alone and use composting as an excuse to shirk the annual backyard chore of raking the lawn. ![]() "Leaves naturally break down and they turn into soil, so by composting you're speeding up that process so that you can get to that end point more quickly." ![]() "When people are composting they're basically mimicking the same type of process that would be happening on the forest floor when leaves fall off trees," said Becky Thomas, associate professor of parks, conservation and recreational therapy. Sami Laurence, manager of SRU’s Macoskey Center, holdsĭried leaves are rich in carbon and when combined with other organic materials that are high in nitrogen, such as vegetable scraps or grass clippings, the two decaying materials eventually form fertile soil, a process known as composting. ![]()
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