Eco Fest offers an alternative to the City of Fort Wayne’s annual leaf collection.
Eco Fest news release:
Providing an alternative to COFW Leaf Pick Up
Fort Wayne, Indiana (October 21, 2026) – This week the City of Fort Wayne sent out their annual Leaf Pick Up mailers, showing residents when leaves will be removed from their area. It also provided some things to remember – no leaves in the trash, no burning leaves, and keep leaf piles off the streets and on curbs. Throwing away your leaves in the trash is against City Code and can result in a fine. Burning your leaves is illegal in the State of Indiana. But their messaging fails to mention that there is no law or ordinance requiring you to rake or remove leaves from your lawn.
“We just wanted to remind residents of Fort Wayne that not only is there no obligation to rake or leaf blow, and there are countless benefits to leaving leaves behind.” says Eco Fest Executive Director Addie Farris.
These environmental benefits include providing habitat for insects to overwinter their larvae and pupae to survive the winter, like fireflies, ladybugs, bumblebees, and swallowtail butterflies. These insects rely on the leaves to complete their lifecycle in the spring. Along with insects, some native wildlife benefit from leaves like the Eastern Red Bat.
So what does it mean to leave the leaves? There are several different ways you can create effective habitat such as spreading the leaves throughout existing garden beds, piling them into a scrub patch or treeline, or simply leaving them where they fall. By raking leaves into your garden beds or leaving some scattered in your lawn you’re helping your soil retain moisture and build up its nutrients as the leaves decompose.
Putting down the leaf blower will also reduce air and noise pollution.
To encourage the community to put down their rakes and let nature do its thing, Eco Fest is selling ‘Leave the Leaves’ yard signs. Porch drop off delivery is free to any residents in Allen County. Shipping outside of Allen County is available as well.
Click here to learn more about the benefits of leaving the leaves or to purchase a sign.
Related Images:
