Not raking your leaves can be better for your lawn: conservation group

A conservation group says that not raking your leaves can actually be better for your lawn and its ecosystem.

Andrew Holland, who is the national media director of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), says embracing your inner laziness can go a long way in helping your lawn's soil quality. As the fallen leaves break down, they turn into mulch, which can help keep your lawn healthy and suppress weeds.

"It's free fertilizer for your lawn, essentially," he told CTVNews.ca over the phone on Friday.

Having too many leaves can inhibit grass growth, so Holland advises keeping it to one or two layers. Alternatively, you can chop up the leaves with a lawnmower to help break them down and prevent your lawn from suffocating.

A thin layer of leaves can also be beneficial to butterflies, moths, caterpillars and other insects that rely on nutrients in your soil. Many of these insects, along with frogs and toads, hibernate inside the leaf litter during the winter, using the leaves as an insulating blanket.