It's fall, and the task of readying our properties for winter is at hand. We've all seen the #LeaveTheLeaves posts, but there are few things everyone should know about how to do it best.

It is imperative that we do what we can to prevent the serious and debilitating illnesses spread by ticks, but the answer is not to expose ourselves, children, pets and the environment to chronic low doses of toxic chemicals over a lifetime. Luckily, it's easier than ever to make responsible choices that will keep us safe from both tick bites and toxic chemicals.
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Here are some suggested tips, and examples of products to get you started.

Lists are for educational purposes and suggestions only, not an endorsement of a specific company, product or brand.  ​

Human activity has resulted in a planetary crisis. This is very serious, though not hopeless, but we must act. Land use change drives about 30% of biodiversity loss, so not only is it the largest contributing factor, it is also one that we can control. Any improvements we make on the small scale can have a collective impact.

Even if you don't own any land yourself, these practices can be implemented in your community parks, schoolyards and private land areas to contribute to planetary health.

Organic land care is a must if you want to regenerate and protect our environment. Organic practices begin with soil health. Cultural practices are also a key component of managing a landscape organically. Learn about organic land care:

Homeowner Resources
Landscapes
Organic Land Care Project

Turf grass is an ideal eco-friendly and durable surface for athletic playing fields, but we typically have more lawn than we use or need around our homes. Why not shrink the lawn area and plant a pollinator garden? In some areas of the country, removing the lawn and replacing with drought tolerant landscaping is encouraged. Take a few minutes to assess your landscape and decide how much (if any) lawn you need, and begin a plan to design some gardens!

Chances are, many of the plants you find at the local nursery will not support biodiversity, and some may even harm it! Yes, non-native, and even invasive species may be sold to consumers in a garden store or online. Buyer beware! Just because we find a plant appealing, doesn't mean it will be beneficial to our native wildlife. A minimum of 70% plants native to our ecoregion are required to support nesting birds. 

Keystone species like oak trees can support over 500 different lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) species by providing food for their larval stages (caterpillars). That's food for baby birds! Find keystone plant species for your ecoregion here. The more native plants you can add, the better!

Insects are declining at an alarming rate! Many of our pollinators are threatened or endangered, like the rusty-patched bumblebee and the monarch butterfly. The indigenous plants that evolved with these pollinators and other wildlife are what will best support them to increase their numbers, since they provide precisely the food and habitat they need and at the right times. Climate change is creating more challenges for our pollinators and they need us to restore habitat now more than ever. No yard is too small. Every yard and every person can help!

Read more on our Biodiversity page.

​Insect species are in trouble. Many of our 4,000 North American bee species are threatened, or even endangered. Monarch butterflies have also seen a drastic decline. Researchers have found a dramatic decline in insects worldwide. Scientists attribute this to a variety of factors – climate change, modern agricultural practices, habitat loss and pesticide use. Some of these factors are not easily addressed, while others are very much within our control. There are many things that we as individuals can do to help. What we do in our own back yards (and front yards!) can make a difference. Here are some suggestions we can all implement ourselves to assist our valuable insect populations. 

✅DITCH THE PESTICIDES Pesticides are toxic to our insect friends and totally unnecessary for cosmetic purposes. If you find yourself faced with a pest problem that must be managed it is important to avoid use of products that can harm beneficial organisms in our landscapes. The vast majority of insects in your yard are helpful. They provide valuable ecosystem services that benefit us like pollination, pest control, soil aeration, nutrient recycling and more. Organic IPM is a least toxic way of managing pests. There are five main steps. First, identify the pest. Second, learn about the pest’s biology. Third, determine the level you are able to tolerate. Fourth, modify your habitat to deter the pest. Fifth, monitor pest abundance and damage, if any. Often times after following these steps, control measures are not needed. Some least toxic controls include exclusion, traps, handpicking, vacuuming, water sprays, and judicious pruning. If a pest still remains above tolerance levels after implementing these options, then an organic compatible product may be considered. This would include OMRI certified and minimum risk (FIFRA 25(b) exempt) products. Follow all label directions exactly to avoid harming beneficial and non-target organisms. See Help for Homeowners for more information.

✅ LEAVE THE LEAVES Insects need leaf litter for egg laying and hibernating. A leaf free yard is not going to provide habitat to beneficial insects. Rake leaves into the “wild” areas of your yard and leave them over the winter or permanently when possible. Leave stems standing in your gardens over the winter. Birds eat the seed heads and insects nest in stems to hibernate. Fireflies nest in the ground and lay eggs in rotting logs. Leave a few to decompose in your garden. If you must clean up some areas in spring, wait until temperatures are reliably in the 50’s during the day, this is usually around mid to late April. Simplify your fall leaf cleanup routine, and you can enjoy a more diverse beneficial insect population visiting your garden. Allowing dead trees (even just portions of them if they pose a danger of falling) or limbs to stay where they are can also provide year round habitat for certain bee species. ​

✅ TURN OUT THE LIGHTS Pollinators are negatively affected by artificial outdoor lighting. Helping is a simple as flipping a switch. Set lights on a timer if needed, or install motion activated lights to reduce the impact on beneficial insects.

On July 29, Bayer announced to shareholders their intent to withdraw glyphosate from the residential use market. But what does this mean? What do we need to know?

This change is about liability, not safety
Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer AG says, "“Let me be very clear that (this decision) is exclusively geared at managing litigation risk and not because of any safety concerns."

Roundup will still continue to be sold to consumers
Liam Condon, president of the Bayer Crop Science Division and a member of the Bayer AG board of management says that, “What is new will be the formulation or formulations and will include multiple active ingredients." The new formulation will still be sold under the Roundup brand.

The new formulations will likely be a "regrettable substitution"
We see this happening in municipalities often. Staff or contractors will stop using glyphosate based herbicides, and replace them with glufosinate or diquat dibromide. Products containing these active ingredients are sometimes paired with other herbicides that inhibit seed germination called preemergents, like ones with indaziflam or flumioxizan. 

Other glyphosate containing herbicides will still be available for sale
This decision comes from the manufacturer of one glyphosate containing product, but there are many more formulations sold by other companies in the lawn and garden market.

Roundup and glyphosate will still be sold 
This decision does not affect sales to, or use by lawn companies, municipal staff, schools, homeowners associations or other similar entities.

The other thousands of toxic pesticides on the market will also continue to be used and sold
The EPA has registered over 1,200 active ingredients and over 16,800 pesticide products. Glyphosate is just one of those active ingredients.

While this move by Bayer to avoid liability can be seen as a win, it is not a victory. Our work is far from over. We need to continue to advocate for health protective organic practices in our communities, not banning single chemicals.

Visit our Tools for Change to get started.