Some choice quotes from the article:
[S]pent leaves that flutter to the ground aren’t a waste product. They are rich in carbon and play an essential role for the tree and the ecology it supports.
The leaves act as a physical barrier for soil, keeping it and its many microbes insulated, and also for the tree roots, as the wet mats of autumn leaves shelter the fragile top layer from the drying winds.
Many, many things live in these dead leaf layers: caterpillars of moths and butterflies, their chrysalises, beetles, centipedes, springtails, woodlice and spiders … and doesn’t the blackbird know it, rustling through the leaves?
No one loves wet autumn leaves more than earthworms, though. Sensing one of their favourite things, they start to work on incorporating them into the soil. Earthworms line their homes with autumn leaves, using them for bedding and then, because they are good housekeepers, they eat them as they break down.
Leave the leaves be: they are not a mess, a waste or a hindrance – they are life and vital with it.
If I don’t, they come over and do it for me when I’m not looking. Same for pulling weeds and trimming my plants way too short and into sterile shapes. I fucking hate it.
The neighbours complain to the city if I don’t and last time I had to pay a $180 fine 😩
That’s awful. I obviously don’t know your situation but is there a conservation group in your region that does “certified wildlife habitat” signs or other programs that could provide you with something that looks official? Could you add a few elements to that area to make it seem more intentional to those neighbors?
I looked for those signs but we live fairly rurally so we’re lucky we even have an SPCA haha
How about https://cwf-fcf.org/en/explore/gardening-for-wildlife/action/get-certified/
Granted I don’t see any pricing information for a sign, and it’s not like it affords any legal protection from your local bylaws, but maybe this is an avenue to have your neighbors better understand your goals for the space.
