Pa. couple collects fallen leaves to keep out of landfills
WEST VINCENT TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Donna Delany and her husband, David Weber, have been together for 14 years and even have their own musical duo. But they are also passionate about caring for the environment.
This fall, they are on a mission to spread awareness about a better way to take care of fallen leaves.
"Leaves are a valuable resource and the whole nature community depends on them," said Delany. "And as a human, I was taught to rake them up, put them in a plastic bag and put them out in the garbage."
Now, any time Delany sees bags of leaves in her neighbors' trash, she tosses them in her pickup truck. She carefully dumps them among the brush on her property, the Backyard Nature Preserve.
At the preserve, Delany invites members of the community for demonstrations on how to better care for the environment.
"We have 17 acres so we can just let the leaves go for anybody who cares," said Delany. "But the main thing I want to do is give people a model of how they can keep their own leaves."
Delany's recommendation is to find a corner of your property already occupied by trees and bushes. There, leaves can provide a habitat for over-wintering creatures and deposit nutrients back into the soil. Leaves should not be left in the way of human traffic and individuals should always act in accordance with local rules and regulations.
But if you don't have any space on your property to properly house leaves, Delany has opened her gates to anyone who wants to drop them off.
"I guess my main message is everybody out there, leave your leaves," she said. "And there's ways to do it where your neighbors won't get mad."
To learn more about Backyard Nature Preserve, visit their website.
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