WXVU MAINLINE NEWS MINUTE FOR THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 16

By: Gabriella Raful

Fall leaves on the lawn might seem like a nuisance, but they actually play an important role for the environment. A new survey from the National Wildlife Federation reveals most people know that leaf layers provide a home to moths and insects, which birds need to survive – and yet, they continue to bag them up and send them to a landfill. Tim Ifill with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society says trees are an essential part of the environment.

:14  “They’re these living things that are used to this nutrient cycle where, you know – in a forest setting, you can imagine – they drop their leaves on the ground, those leaves slowly decompose, return nutrients to the soil, and then the tree roots will take up those nutrients and use them to grow.”