Environmental education specialist at Point State Park, Jack Lachendro knows leaves like the back of his hand.
Every fall, leaves litter forest floors. Local parks balance keeping paths and recreation areas clean and tidy for park-goers, while also considering the environment.
“The best thing we can do—at least in my personal opinion—[is] see all of the leaves kind of stay here at the park and just decompose and remain soil, but it’s also not practical,” Lachendro said.
Lachendro has been working at Point State Park for just over two years. His main duties as an environmental education specialist include running environmental education programming for the Pittsburgh community, as well as specialized groups—schools, scouts, retirement homes and tour groups. Lachendro also helps resource management, such as leaves.
Proper leaf management aids the environment’s wildlife and soil while helping to keep public spaces clean and enjoyable for visitors.
From the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, local and state groups manage Pittsburgh parks’ leaves—by blowing them, raking them, or just leaving them be.
Leaving leaves in Point State Park
Point State Park, for instance, is split into two sections. On the “city side” — the lawn east of the highway — workers like Lachendro rake leaves into piles, which are then vacuumed into a truck and hauled to Riverview Park for yard debris disposal.
On the “great lawn” side, which is on the western side of the highway, to maintain path accessibility and return leaves to the earth, any leaves that fall onto paths get blown back onto the woodland beds.
Workers do a sweep, only keeping leaves that have no signs of diseases that could impact the beds if left untreated.
The leaves are then left alone to decompose.
It takes a couple years for leaves to decompose fully, due to human impact in the park, (people will always stray from the path despite the rules), but when the leaves do compose, they turn into nutrient-rich soil, which helps the trees and greenery.
Leaving the leaves where they’re at also provides a great habitat for wildlife—different insect species use the litter layer as nesting and hibernation areas.
Jaci Bruschi, horticultural manager for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, said, “leaving some leaf litter around trees…provides habitat for butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects through the winter.”
Fireflies, whose population has decreased nationally in the past two decades, for example, rely on the leaf litter layer. This is, in part, due to leaf raking. Fireflies lay their eggs on the litter later as fall comes around. Once the eggs start to hatch, they burrow underground, underneath that original layer.
“When people rake away leaves, they are raking away the critical habitat that the fireflies rely on,” Lachendro said.
DIY Leaf management
While there are designated people to help keep Pittsburgh’s parks in order, leaf management is not completely out of locals’ hands. There are plenty of ways to get involved in one’s local parks, gardens and in their own homes.
Don’t litter.
When leaves get blown into beds, trash goes with them. While leaves decompose in a couple years, trash stays there a lifetime, polluting its surroundings. Finding the proper place to dispose of wrappers, bottles, and cans is the number one thing that helps keep the local spaces clean.
And while the best thing to do in your own yard is let the leaves be, Lachendro knows some people like having a green yard, and that’s okay. The key is finding the balance. If you are going to dispose of your leaves, at least don’t put them in plastic bags, where they will be taken to a landfill.
“The decomposition process isn’t going to take the natural effect that it should,” Lachendro said.
Instead, Bruschi said to “try shredding or mulching them to create natural compost for gardens and flower beds…It’s a simple and sustainable way to bring the same kind of care we show in Pittsburgh’s parks into your own backyard.”
