Working Day 7 ~ 3/11/2023 ~ Collecting leaves after the storm to make the most of their decay

We met again for an open working day on 3 November in the aftermaths of a huge storm in the Netherlands, which was still rippling away.

Whilst the last of the rain fell we began by going over the list of plants that we collected from the Botanische tuin Afrikaanderwijk, starting to collate information as to their growing particularities and specificities. It was nice to begin to get acquainted with our new species for Shared Grounds :)

Once the weather cleared up a bit we headed outside to surveyed the damage of the storm.  Luckily things were not as severe as they could have been - there were a few fallen branches, but mostly just a lot of the autumn leaves had been fast paced in falling to the ground, now forming a carpet of slowly decaying matter. To make the most of these leaking nutrients we decided to collect a lot of the leaves, focusing on the basketball field where likely the gemeente would eventually clean up, removing the leaves. 

Leaving leaves in a garden or green space has multiple positive effects. Firstly they create a natural mulch that helps to fertilise the soil as it breaks down. They also provide shelter for different animal and insect species, particularly over the cold Winter months. Leaf layers further help to retain soil moisture and warmth. For more information about the importance of leaving leaves as opposed to putting them in the bin this article from the Washington Post is really helpful - https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2015/OctNov/Gardening/Leave-the-Leaves

Once we collected the leaves up - many wheelbarrows full - we moved them to places underneath shrubs and trees at Shared Grounds, where they could slowly decompose and provide nutrients back to the plant root systems, and become Winter homes for the many insects that we had come to notice populate the park. It seems like an easy and fairly basic thing to do, though has many beneficial aspects - and another way for us to utilise decay and 'waste' in the garden, keeping it all onsite for another regeneration.

traditional rubbish collection was conducted too :)

mushrooms at Shared Grounds!

lots of leaves swept into the corners of the basketball court by the wind

collecting and spreading!

also placed in our Willow stump to decay and fill it with humus :)

ready to break down and fertilise the soil, and become homes for others :)