Fallen leaves are more than just seasonal color — they are shelter.
Leaving your leaves is one of the easiest ways to help insects and soil health in your yard. Piles of fallen leaves create homes for all sorts of beneficial critters, from butterflies and beetles to worms and fireflies. It’s also a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Instead of using a gas-powered leaf blower, leave those leaves where they fall.
Pledge to Leave Your Leaves, and you can pick up one of these yard signs, while supplies last.
Pick up your sign in Carrboro at the Orange County Southern Branch Library, 203 S. Greensboro St. Other pick-up locations include the Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill Town Hall, Orange County Main Library and the Bonnie B. Davis Ag Center in Hillsborough. Yard signs measure 18 x 24 inches, are made of sturdy, weather-resistant materials, and are printed with low-VOC vegetable-based inks. There is a limit of one free yard sign per household per year.
How to Leave Your Leaves:
- Leave them where they fall - Fallen leaves offer shelter for creatures like fireflies, beetles, and butterflies, and save you time on yard maintenance!
- Rake leaves under trees, around shrubs, and into perennial beds – Leaves can act as a natural mulch that suppresses weeds and retains moisture
- Compost your leaves – Add valuable nutrients to your soil for even more beautiful plants in the Spring
The Town of Carrboro thanks our partners, towns of Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, Orange County, the New Hope Bird Alliance, and Keep Durham Beautiful, for helping us encourage community members to Leave Your Leaves, support biodiversity, improve water quality, and reduce climate and air pollution.
For more information about the benefits of leaving your leaves, visit: https://www.carrboronc.gov/2610/Leave-the-Leaves ;
Don’t worry, leaf collection services will still be available to Carrboro residents this year. The Leave Your Leaves initiative is optional and won’t affect the normal leaf pickup schedule. If you can’t leave the leaves, please remember to put your leaves in a yard waste container at the street. If you must put leaves at the curb, do not place them in drainage ditches, bike lanes, streets or sidewalks.
For more information about yard waste service: https://www.carrboronc.gov/2230/Yard-Waste ;