Leaves Are Just as Important on the Ground as they Are in the Trees
- Emily
- Oct 23
- 4 min read
I hope you'll take a moment to read my blog that I wrote mostly while wrestling a toddler who insists she sit in my lap while I type. I hope you will take away something new. At the very end you'll find some wonderful ideas to involve kids in a leaf project you can do together while you discuss with them some information you learn in this blog. My goal is always to spark a wonder for nature in children so that they may grow to be good stewards.
Learning about leaves allows us to make an informative decision to steward the land. In Genesis, God creates the Earth and the skies and all that is within in it and we are stewards of His creation.
The air is cooler, the nights are longer, and as the days shorten so does the sunshine. It’s fall and the leaves are no longer producing food. Chlorophyll is what makes the leaves green and it is also what allows the leaves to perform photosynthesis. As this season sets in and trees are no longer producing food the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves begins to diminish.
Orange, red, yellow, brown, and even shades of purple take over the once green leaves. The leaves aren’t as new as they once were in the spring or summer and where the stem attaches to the tree has become weak. With each gust of wind, whether big or small, the leaves begin to fall. Just as quickly as these beautiful colors come they are gone.
Leaves in spring and summer are crucial to the survival of the tree. Fallen leaves in autumn and winter are crucial to the survival of many.
Fallen leaves provide great nesting material. Squirrels, birds, and rabbits use leaves to build nests. Chipmunks and opossums use leaves to line their burrows.
Leaves provide a barrier of insulation, keeping many critters warm to survive the winter. Many insects, caterpillars, queen bumble bees, toads, wood frogs, and salamanders find themselves very cozy under a leaf blanket. Luna Moth larvae exclusively overwinter in fallen leaves where they will spin their cocoon within a leaf in the spring time. Fireflies, or lightning bugs, also exclusively overwinter in leaves, which provide needed moisture control. Without fallen leaves our magical summer nights would lose their glow.
Since many invertebrates find homes in the layers of fallen leaves, leaves also provide food for those whose diet consists of invertebrates.
Many species of caterpillars, millipedes, snails and slugs, beetles, and earth worms feast on decomposing leaves. There is one other who feeds on decomposing leaves.
Alive, but not a plant or animal, fungi secrete enzymes that allow them to absorb nutrients from the fallen leaves. Fungi play an important role in the forest floor allowing trees to communicate with each other and share resources.
As fallen leaves decompose they give back to the soil. Nutrients are returned to the ground, the ground is kept warmer in the cold months, and moisture is preserved in the warmer months thanks to the decomposition and blanket of leaves.
Now that you know how imperative fallen leaves are for the ecosystem, can I ask you to leave the leaves?
A thick layer of leaves can kill grass in your lawn by smothering it from sunlight and preventing air circulation. If your goal is a manicured lawn, then leaving the leaves may feel like too big of an ask. I'll insert a blunt truth, a manicured lawn is not a way of stewarding the land, but I'll leave that for another blog post one day! Could you leave half of the leaves? Below I’ll go over some mindful options that allow a lawn.
If you have large mature trees where you would like to keep a manicured lawn then some leaves will need to be removed to prevent a thick smothering layer. Remove leaves that fall earlier in the season and let the rest go later in the season. A thin layer of leaves is much less likely to smother the grass and may contribute to the health of the soil.
How to mindfully remove leaves:
Gently rake, or using a leaf blower on its lowest setting, leaves where you would like them.
When moving leaves further distances, move the leaves on to a tarp first. You can then drag the tarp to where you want the leaves.
Place leaves in flower beds or gardens. I like to think of this as “tucking them in for the winter.”
Place the leaves around the base of the tree.
Place them along the wood line.
Move them to another area of your property.
Please, DO NOT burn the leaves, there's simply no need for this. Leaves are too vital to waste them in this manner.
What else can you do?
Talk to others about this! Share this very blog. Teach your children!
Here are some fun leaf ideas you can do with your kids while you talk about the importance of leaves.
Leaf Rubbing. What better way to learn about leaves than examining them and watching them appear on your paper! See these dark lines on our leaf? These are the leaf's veins. This is how the leaf carries food and water, they act like a road.
Leaf Sorting. Sort by color, by shape, or texture. Leaves that turn brown, orange, or yellow are that color because it has always been there in the leaf, hiding among the green. Now leaves that turn red do so because the red color comes from left over food stored within the leaf.
Leaf Matching. Learn what different tree's leaves look like. Download this free printable with 10 different tree leaves.
Leaf Hunt. Print this leaf hunt sheet and go hunting!
Leaf Art. Below find inspiration and links to some ideas you can incorporate leaves into artwork.
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