{"id":75002,"date":"2024-09-21T19:54:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-21T23:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?p=75002"},"modified":"2024-09-21T19:54:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T23:54:04","slug":"the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>The Wild Truth:<\/strong> Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_75004\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-75004\" class=\"size-full wp-image-75004\" src=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2-1024x606.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2-768x454.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2-810x479.jpg 810w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2-1140x675.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-75004\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Holly Wilbur<\/p><\/div>\n<p>By Paula Musto<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever considered turning your yard, or even just a part of it, back into the natural habitat that animals once roamed before it became your home? It may be one of the most important\u2014and simplest\u2014things that humans, as individuals, can do to help wildlife on our planet.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 70 percent of vertebrate wildlife has been lost since 1970, according to the World Wildlife Fund. A prime culprit is a devasting loss of biodiversity as people have replaced natural habitats with development\u2014our homes, farms, commercial spaces and roadways.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just mammals, birds and reptiles that are declining but also insects which are vital but underappreciated,\u201d says Heather Heckel, a University of North Carolina adjunct assistant professor who teaches sustainability classes. \u201cThe severe loss of beneficial insect populations impacts food supplies, soil health, plants, birds, habitats and human health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Heckel is founder of the Asheville nonprofit Engage Globally, which promotes sustainable development in collaboration with other community-based organizations. She cites a number of causes for the severe decline, including climate change, soil and water pollution, diseases, habitat destruction and habitat fragmentation.<\/p>\n<p>This decline is equally bad for humans. Insects are a crucial link in our food chain; more than 200,000 different species pollinate 75 percent of the world\u2019s crops and play a key role in replenishing soil for agriculture. Yet, invertebrates (including insects, spiders and worms) are disappearing eight times faster than vertebrates (animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals).<\/p>\n<p>There are, however, ways we can help. One is simple: Keep fallen yard leaves in your yard! Or, at least a portion of them. \u201cLeaves are not litter,\u201d Heckel says. \u201cThey provide warmth and shelter so insects, caterpillars, worms, larvae and other small wildlife can survive the winter. What we may consider yard debris will decompose, enriching the soil, helping both wildlife and plants thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A leaf-cluttered yard may run counter to the common perception of an attractive lawn\u2014a perfectly manicured expanse of grass and tidy flower beds. And many of us live in residential developments where the rules mandate bagging and disposing of leaves. Heckel suggests, however, leaving the leaves in a portion of your backyard where homeowners\u2019 rules do not apply. Away from street view, leaves can be gathered, along with any twigs and logs, and piled up to create a welcoming winter habitat for wildlife. This will support not only insects but also other overwintering animals including birds, reptiles and mammals who depend on the earth-crawling critters as a food source.<\/p>\n<p>Drew Lathin, a landscape designer and certified Blue Ridge Naturalist, has made it a mission to spread the word that an immaculately manicured lawn is a dead one, a holdover of outdated notions of garden aesthetics. Instead, he advocates for rewilding urban landscapes by using native plants to create biological diversity. And he advises us not to dump the leaves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need a paradigm change,\u201d says Lathin, who operates Mountain Native Landscape Design, which re-imagines gardens more reminiscent of graceful meadows than aristocratic gardens. \u201cWhile inter-related, the loss of biodiversity is more harmful to humans than climate change,\u201d he says. The first step, he adds, is to forget the mow, trim and blow mentality that dominates traditional landscaping practices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLandscapes can be functional and sustainable, as well as beautiful,\u201d Lathin says, pointing out the advantage of using low-maintenance native plants that do not require expensive pesticides, chemical fertilizers and frequent watering. Fall is a good time to begin planting native perennials to replace any invasive or exotic species. Rather than mulching flower beds, he uses fallen leaves to provide weed suppression and moisture retention. And, as a bonus, the leaves are free.<\/p>\n<p>The first step in making your yard more wildlife-friendly may well be educating yourself on the do\u2019s and don\u2019ts. Visit online resources such as HomegrownNationalPark.org to learn about backyard natural habitats and Xerces.org\/blog\/leave-the-leaves for more information on leaving the leaves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHelping to conserve nature, getting to experience it every day and observing how life changes across the seasons, is beautiful, meaningful, hopeful and healthy,\u201d Heckel says. \u201cIt\u2019s why I love native plants and pollinator-friendly gardening. I see dozens of species of wildlife in my yard each day\u2014insects and animals that are beneficial to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Paula Musto is a writer and volunteer for Appalachian Wildlife Refuge which cares for injured and orphaned wildlife. If you find an animal that may need help, call the hotline at 828.633.6364. To learn more, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/AppalachianWild.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AppalachianWild.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever considered turning your yard, or even just a part of it, back into the natural habitat that animals once roamed before it became your home? It may be one of the most important\u2014and simplest\u2014things that humans, as individuals, can do to help wildlife on our planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":75004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-pets"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves - The Laurel of Asheville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you ever considered turning your yard, or even just a part of it, back into the natural habitat that animals once roamed before it became your home? It may be one of the most important\u2014and simplest\u2014things that humans, as individuals, can do to help wildlife on our planet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves - The Laurel of Asheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you ever considered turning your yard, or even just a part of it, back into the natural habitat that animals once roamed before it became your home? It may be one of the most important\u2014and simplest\u2014things that humans, as individuals, can do to help wildlife on our planet.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Laurel of Asheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelaurelofasheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-21T23:54:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"710\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Pryor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AshevilleLaurel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AshevilleLaurel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Pryor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amy Pryor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\"},\"headline\":\"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-21T23:54:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":774,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\",\"Pets, Animal Welfare\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves - The Laurel of Asheville\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-21T23:54:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\"},\"description\":\"Have you ever considered turning your yard, or even just a part of it, back into the natural habitat that animals once roamed before it became your home? It may be one of the most important\u2014and simplest\u2014things that humans, as individuals, can do to help wildlife on our planet.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":710,\"caption\":\"Photo by Holly Wilbur\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/lifestyle\\\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Laurel of Asheville\",\"description\":\"The Arts and Culture of Communities Across the Mountains\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\",\"name\":\"Amy Pryor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amy Pryor\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves - The Laurel of Asheville","description":"Have you ever considered turning your yard, or even just a part of it, back into the natural habitat that animals once roamed before it became your home? It may be one of the most important\u2014and simplest\u2014things that humans, as individuals, can do to help wildlife on our planet.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves - The Laurel of Asheville","og_description":"Have you ever considered turning your yard, or even just a part of it, back into the natural habitat that animals once roamed before it became your home? It may be one of the most important\u2014and simplest\u2014things that humans, as individuals, can do to help wildlife on our planet.","og_url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/","og_site_name":"The Laurel of Asheville","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelaurelofasheville","article_published_time":"2024-09-21T23:54:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":710,"url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amy Pryor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AshevilleLaurel","twitter_site":"@AshevilleLaurel","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amy Pryor","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/"},"author":{"name":"Amy Pryor","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#\/schema\/person\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00"},"headline":"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves","datePublished":"2024-09-21T23:54:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/"},"wordCount":774,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg","articleSection":["Lifestyle","Pets, Animal Welfare"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/","url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/","name":"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves - The Laurel of Asheville","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-21T23:54:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#\/schema\/person\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00"},"description":"Have you ever considered turning your yard, or even just a part of it, back into the natural habitat that animals once roamed before it became your home? It may be one of the most important\u2014and simplest\u2014things that humans, as individuals, can do to help wildlife on our planet.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Wild-Truth-Holly-W-copy-2.jpg","width":1200,"height":710,"caption":"Photo by Holly Wilbur"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/the-wild-truth-creating-a-wildlife-friendly-yard-begins-by-leaving-the-leaves\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Wild Truth: Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Yard Begins by Leaving the Leaves"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/","name":"The Laurel of Asheville","description":"The Arts and Culture of Communities Across the Mountains","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/#\/schema\/person\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00","name":"Amy Pryor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4afbb9c963c7a0e8f027aafb31772d626615a03db2472868007f1e429a48cc2f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amy Pryor"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75005,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75002\/revisions\/75005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}