→ Just joining the Mindful Fall CleanUp Challenge? Click here to catch up with previous emails! 

Welcome, !

Today we’re going to set up a functional system that will make future cleanup tasks more convenient, efficient and ecologically friendly!

As ecological gardeners, our goal is to leave as much habitat for pollinators and wildlife as possible. That means refraining from removing things like fallen leaves, dead branches and wilting flowers from the landscape. However, many of us are practicing EarthCare in neighborhoods where we want to be mindful of other observers who may not yet understand the value of “messy” gardens as wildlife habitat.

Throughout the challenge, we will learn to strike that balance between wild and tame, to serve pollinators as a priority, while protecting the sustainability of your gardens in human-dominant spaces.

Your challenge is to build a compost bin or pile for organic debris.

Composting is perfect for yard waste like leaves you’re not using for other purposes, grass clippings, and smaller bits of organic matter.

This is another great way to keep Nature’s bountiful resources on your site. You can create rich soil over time with your compost pile, reducing the amount of external inputs you need to build healthy soil and support thriving gardens.

If you deadheaded plants last week, you can collect the remnants and throw them on the compost pile loosely. This will keep them accessible for hungry birds.

As the challenge continues, you’ll likely be collecting organic matter from other spaces in your landscape that can be easily added to the compost pile you create this week.

Does composting sound intimidating? Don’t worry! Just like all of our challenge steps so far, you can keep this really simple and still get amazing results.

It is good enough to just create a small space on your land, in your backyard, somewhere with access to air and microbes. Keep it contained. If you want to prevent smells and rodents from showing up, don’t add kitchen scraps. Just add yard waste and the kinds of things we will be cleaning up, in the future challenge emails.

Remember, the EarthCare Community Facebook group is here for you to connect with other stewards who are composting on their land, or who may have similar questions. Check in with us!

Enjoy getting active in your landscape this week, let us know how it goes, and we'll see you again soon! 

In community + resilience,

Ps. Are you just joining us? Catch up on all previous Mindful Fall CleanUp Challenge emails here.

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