The actions we take at home can prevent pollution, keep our waterways healthy and give our gardens a boost too!
Collect leaves and grass clippings
Leaves and grass clippings are some of the biggest stormwater pollutants. Although autumn leaves are the most obvious culprit, native trees drop leaves and bark all year around too.
- Rake up the leaves and grass clippings on your property and nature strip so they don't end up in the stormwater system
- Turn leaves and clippings into compost to feed your garden or make leaf mulch to protect your plants and soil
- Dispose of leaves and clippings in your green waste bin or take them to a green waste recycling facility
- Never rake leaves onto the road—that is littering, as leaves collected by street sweeping trucks can’t be composted and become landfill.
- Garden bags can be a handy way to collect, carry and store leaves
- Make a leaf tower to store excess leaves until you need them
How to make a leaf tower
At certain times of the year leaves can accumulate faster than your compost can handle. You can build your own storage system to save your leaves for later use. Build one near a compost bin and add a few handfuls each time you empty the kitchen compost bucket – leaves provide the carbon to balance the nitrogen in kitchen waste, reducing greenhouse gasses. Your leaf tower can be as simple as a couple of garden stakes and a few metres of chicken wire.
Materials needed: two or more stakes, chicken wire, zip ties or wire
- Drive two stakes into the ground approximately 1 metre apart
- Roll your chicken wire around them in a circle or set it up in a square using four stakes
- Secure the chicken wire to the stakes with a few zip ties or wire
- Start filling up your leaf tower.
Avoid harmful contaminants
As rain falls and flows over the ground, it picks up chemicals and carries them through the stormwater drains to our lakes, wetlands and other waterways.
- Use fertilisers sparingly, if at all – and never when rain is forecast.
- Maintain your vehicle so that it doesn’t leak oil or other fluids that can be carried away by rain
- Wash your car on the grass or gravel to allow detergents to be filtered by the soil , or take it to a commercial carwash
- Pick up after your pets and use compostable poop bags. Be sure to tie the bag and dispose of in the garbage bin
- Dispose of paint, paint cleaners, and other hazardous household waste at your local resource management centre.
Protect your soil
Healthy soil allows more rainfall to be absorbed and stored for the future. Keeping soil contained and covered supports soil health and keeps it out of our waterways.
- Plant a veggie patch or groundcover plants to help water filter into the soil
- Apply mulch to garden beds to help retain moisture and promote healthy soils
- Use edging to contain garden beds
- Avoid parking on the nature strip – it compacts the soil which makes it difficult for water to soak in.
Make the rain work for you
Rainwater is a precious resource. As temperatures increase and droughts become more frequent, finding effective ways to store rainwater is more important than ever.
- Divert your downpipes to a raingarden or swale
- Install tanks to collect rainwater for use in your garden
- Plant groundcover plants and use permeable paving to slow the flow and help water sink into the landscape.
