The Hudson Valley is known for its foliage this time of year, but what happens when the leaves fall down?

According to Return To Now, officials from the National Wildlife Federation are urging people to not rake their leaves this year. I personally don't even need a reason to not rake them because I HATE raking leaves. So if someone tells me I don't have to, I'm in.

Here are the 7 reasons you shouldn't rake your leaves, according to the National Wildlife Federation and Return To Now:

1. It's unnatural
A few inch deep leaf layer is actually natural, it forms its own ecosystem.

2. Wildlife habitat
A lot of wildlife rely on fallen leaves for shelter and food

3. Free fertilizer and mulch
Fallen leaves actually decompress weeds naturally and when they decompose they add nutrients to the soil...for free!

4. The birds and butterflies
Often times larvae are attached to fallen leaves. So if you rake and remove leaves, you're getting rid of butterflies. And if you get rid of butterflies, you probably won't have as many birds in your yard because birds rely on the larvae to feed their young.

5. Reduce waste
Using plastic bags to round up your raked leaves is incredibly wasteful. Bags used for yard trimmings account for roughly 33 million tons of waste each year in landfills.

6. Reduce pollution
Leaf blowers and leaf trucks often use gas which equals pollution. Go green and don't rake the leaves.

7. Save your time and your body
Why waste your time and literal energy doing something you really shouldn't?

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