NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com for publication here.
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Dear Editor,
Thank you to the family or group who replaced the bench at the corner of Farm Road and Main St. I have missed it and now a new one is there! Nice place for a break before or after going up or down Farm Road.
Peter Accinno
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As I start to write this it is Saturday morning in mid-December and three gas leaf blowers are going next door.
It is cold so I am being kept indoors today by the temperature outside and not just by the noise and toxic fumes of two-stroke leaf blowers like most Saturdays since early September. None of our neighbors have their leaves blown on the same day. If we are lucky we get a break on Tuesdays.
It is well over a month since the leaves stopped falling so why the weekly blowing? For those of us who do not live where the town collects leaves, the leaves are generally blown into a pile somewhere in the yard but seven days later the wind has inevitably blown some of those leaves back on to the lawn, and so leaf blowing resumes.
A few years ago the Conservation Commission made a proposal that leaf blowing should end in November but that did not get far. Last year, in our neighborhood, it continued until Christmas eve. I am sure I do not need to explain the impact of this activity on air quality and noise pollution, and the planet, let alone the detrimental effect on the health of the workers who operate leaf blowers hour after hour, week after week, but may I share some thoughts on alternative approaches to this, our longest season.
Leave the leaves – A lawn covered with golden leaves looks quite beautiful in the fall and provides cover for insect life that aerates the lawn. Leaf blowers leave the lawn devoid of insect life and organic nutrients the lawn needs.
Mulch the leaves – When all the leaves have fallen and finally lost their fall color, rake the majority of the leaves on to a tarp and haul them to a pile where they can decompose and produce rich organic mulch for spreading on the lawn in the spring. No need to go the transfer station for mulch.
Use a mulching mower – Then mow the lawn one last time with mulching blades to cut up the remaining leaves to be left to decompose and provide nutrients for the lawn during the winter. Lawn are better with nitrogen from leaf mulch rather than chemical fertilizers.
Shrink the lawn – Do you really need all that lawn mowed weekly? Let some of it become a meadow, like some Land Trust properties. Mow with a high setting once a year.
Go electric – Electric mowers and leaf blowers are pretty powerful today and batteries last much longer than even a few years ago. Electric is cheaper, quieter and better for the environment.
Rob Fryer
President – New Canaan Land Trust
Rob, Bravo! To the point environmentally better for critters & us. Progressive Darien has postings asking residents to leave the leaves. Americans obsession with lawns. NC needs to step forward as known Wilton in particular has organization Wilton Green website. Those of us with PlanetNC & Swap Shop know the benefits.
Bravo Rob Fryer for pointing out the natural benefits of leaf mulch and the health risks of gas powered leaf blowers. Encouraging residents to consider transitioning to electric land care equipment is a happy thought for 2025.
Also, what’s wrong with raking the leaves, after corraling them? Rakes are beneficial to lawns, pulling out dead grass with the leaves, etc.. Rakes with a large green bucket or raking the leaves on to a tarp should be sufficient for most jobs then dumping the leaves in the woods. In the many fall clean-ups I did, one clean-up was enough in the fall, leaving some leaves in the beds to protect plants and shrubs over winter. Then in spring you finish the job with all the other chores. You just don’t want heavy leaves smothering parts of the lawn.
I blow my lawn with a gas powered blower about 3 times a year. It is a minimalist lawn that I mow about 3 times a year. I don’t use pesticides or treatments on my lawn either.
The trend over the past decades has been clear cutting trees and replacing them with lawns as part of the McMansion construction process. I would support town legislation that restricts clear cutting to reasonable numbers and maintains the rural wooded nature of New Canaan.
I live in a 4-acre lot and my lawn is under 1/3rd acre, most of which is part of the septic field. I’ve photographed over 50 bird species right on my lot and have had visits from all the small and large mammals that live around here.