Fall is a great time to drive around to look at the beautifully changing leaves. It is common to rake those leaves when they fall in your yard, but did you know that you don’t have to? The leaves contain nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen that act as fertilizer. Just mow your yard a few times to break the leaves up and then let it be. However, it is good practice to rake up the leaves that end up on the street. Those nutrients in the leaves can end up in our lakes, streams, and rivers which can cause things like algae blooms.  A good phrase to remember is rake the street, not your yard.

Read this MPR Article: Why experts say you shouldn’t bag your leaves this fall

Adopt a Drain

Are you looking for a way to contribute to your neighborhood and keep the environment clean? If you haven’t already, sign up to the Adopt a Drain program and keep a storm drain near you clean. All you need to do it visit https://mn.adopt-a-drain.org/ and find a storm drain near you that hasn’t been adopted yet. Then 2 times a month clean the garbage and organic waste from the drain preventing the debris from entering our precious waterways. Lastly, log your progress in your account so the program can keep track of all the work the volunteers put in. Throughout Minnesota 19,204 drains have been adopted and 509,600 pounds of debris have been collected!