HARRISBURG, Pa .– While it might seem natural to rake leaves in your garden this fall, those leaves could play a more natural role in your garden or lawn.

It is not necessary to remove all the leaves from the yard, said David Mizejewski, naturalist for the National Wildlife Federation, although he noted that just letting them all pile up can choke the grass. By not raking and bagging all the leaves to be sent to the landfill, he said, you are doing the planet a favor in many ways.

“When organic material like leaves is landfilled,” he said, “they are buried and decompose anaerobically without oxygen, producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change “.

Not bagging the leaves also reduces the use of gasoline-powered tools such as leaf mowers and blowers, Mizejewski said. He encouraged people to consider reducing the size of their lawns, which can be destroyed by dense layers of leaves, and adding more beds, which benefit from rotting leaf matter.

The leaf layer is also a habitat for a number of animal species, including chipmunks, beneficial insects and spiders. Mizejewski said that 94% of moths spend part of their life cycle in the leaf layer, many during the winter months as pupae. When they emerge, they lay eggs, and moth caterpillars are an important food source for many backyard birds.

“So you start to see how it all ties together,” he said. “If you get rid of all these leaves, you are wiping out this habitat for all these animals and the source of food for the birds in the spring.”

For people looking to add more flower beds, Mizejewski said using dead leaves could be a way to save money, as they are a natural alternative to buying mulch and fertilizer. .

“Slowly but surely you can sort of convert your typical garden into something a little more natural and, honestly, maybe a little more lively and beautiful,” he said. “And that’s kind of the heart of what we talk about at the National Wildlife Federation, through our Garden for Wildlife movement.”

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RICHMOND, Virginia – The goodies are gone, but that doesn’t mean your pumpkin lantern has to be tossed in the trash after Halloween. To help the environment, a conservation group is encouraging Virginians recycle them instead.

At National Wildlife Federation, naturalist David Mizejewski said carved pumpkins typically last a few days before they start to deteriorate. But you can help wildlife before that by cutting them up and leaving them in your yard for birds and squirrels. He said his group generally discourages people from feeding wildlife, especially mammals, but it’s a once-a-year treat.

“It’s a good thing to do, as long as you don’t overdo it or put out 50 pumpkins in your garden or take them to natural areas and throw them away,” he said. he declared. “Don’t do that; it’s actually garbage.”

Pigs love pumpkins too, and Virginians can recycle theirs at local farms and animal shelters. The Pumpkin program for pigs lists dozens of places across the state to bring in fresh or already carved pumpkins so pigs can have a feast after Halloween.

Mizejewski said pumpkins are great for composting because they contain 90% water and decompose quickly after being cut. Before adding to your compost pile, he advises removing the seeds to dry them out, then setting them aside for birds and small mammals like chipmunks. Or you can collect the seeds and plant them to grow pumpkins for the next season.

“Now not only will that allow you to have your own little private pumpkin patch,” he said, “but the flowers that pumpkins put out, pumpkins are part of the squash family and they can. does be an important source of nectar and pollen for some of our wild native bees. “

There is one exception. Mizejewski said if you’ve painted your pumpkin or sprayed it with anything to keep animals away, don’t offer it to wildlife or put it in a compost bin. In these cases, it’s best to just throw it away.

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HIGH POINT, NC – The National Wildlife Federation and the Sustainable Furnishings Council have published the latest list of furniture retailers which rely on wood from sustainable sources.

Companies such as Cisco Home, Williams-Sonoma, The Arrangement, and Working Wonders have ranked highest in sustainable practices.

Susan Inglis – executive director of the Sustainable Furnishings Council – said the scorecard is both a guide for conscientious consumers and a model for retailers looking to improve their timber sourcing standards.

“These companies are all committed to sourcing wood carefully,” Inglis said, “to avoid contributing to deforestation.”

North Carolina is home to the fifth largest wood product manufacturing industry in the nation. The scorecard is available online at ‘durablefurniture.org. ‘

Barbara Bramble – vice president of International Wildlife Conservation at the National Wildlife Federation – explained that much of the wood used to make furniture is harvested from natural forests, but she said wood production can be carried out in a sustainable manner without aggravating deforestation.

About 30% of the world’s forests are production forests.

“Many of the world’s timber harvests are illegal,” Bramble said, “and unsustainable in other ways, damaging forests, soils and water quality, but that is not necessarily the case . “

Inglis said the dashboard goes beyond interior design, pointing out that when trees are felled their stored carbon is released into the environment. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, tropical deforestation accounts for around 20% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.

“Consumers increasingly understand that healthy forests have something to do with our ability to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change,” said Inglis.

Bramble said momentum is building in wood-dependent industries to step up policies and practices that promote responsibly sourced wood.

“Even in the past year and a half of the COVID pandemic,” Bramble said, “we have found that the number of companies engaging in the wood furniture dashboard, interested in increasing their score, increased with each installment each year. “

About a third of the wood extracted from natural forests in the world is used for wood products, according to the Union of scientists concerned.

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HARRISBURG, Pa .– Through November, groups in Pennsylvania will plant about 300,000 trees for the fall, as part of a goal of 10 million new trees in the state by 2025.

The Keystone Partnership 10 million trees is one of the projects the state and organizations are undertaking to put Pennsylvania on track for its 2025 Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction plan.

By planting 10 million trees, the state can meet its goal of 95,000 acres of riparian buffer zones, where native trees and shrubs are planted alongside waterways to help prevent nitrogen pollution, phosphorus and sediment to end up in Chesapeake Bay.

Brenda Sieglitz, senior director of the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said he has increased the biodiversity of the trees they offer, including species such as sugar maple, hazelnut and papaya .

“We really encourage people to try and take the trees and not only increase reforestation in Pennsylvania, but also use it as a resource to maybe increase food production or use it as a way to add can. -being something on their farm in the form of fruit and nuts. production, ”stressed Sieglitz.

The 10 Million Trees program works with about 200 partners statewide to plant trees along waterways, in low-canopy towns, and on abandoned mining lands. Half of the fresh water that flows into the Chesapeake Bay comes from Pennsylvania.

Partner of Ten Million Trees, the Swatara Watershed Association, deals with Swatara Creek, which originates in Schuylkill County and flows into the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County.

Bethany Canner, vice president of the Association, said they have planted around 750 trees so far. She noted that adding more trees to the regional landscape has a positive impact on wildlife.

“Every time we build a development, every time we build a new road, we are removing habitat,” Canner explained. “The more trees we can get in, it provides a bigger habitat than some of these species that need bigger pieces of wood to survive, you know, it helps them survive.”

Project partners have planted over a million trees so far this year and hope to plant 800,000 more this spring.

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