Why you shouldn’t rake your leaves this fall & more environmental news.

[View this email in your browser]( Thursday, October 5, 2023 "There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew." — Marshall McLuhan USFWS Announces Endangered Species Biobanking Program In a race to catalog endangered species of the U.S. before it’s too late, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this week a biobanking initiative in partnership with the nonprofit Revive & Restore. The new project is the first systematic biobanking initiative for endangered species in the U.S. [Read More]( Related: [Sequencing Project Helps Conservation Efforts for Critically Endangered Kākāpō]( 10,000 Wild Oysters Released Onto Human-Made Reef off Coast of England [Oysters]( are essential for [ocean]( health, filtering and cleaning the [water]( and providing [habitat]( and sustenance. Oyster reefs can also serve as storm and tidal barriers, prevent erosion and protect [estuaries](. One conservationist group, the UK’s [Wild Oysters Project]( has released 10,000 native oysters onto a human-made reef off the North East Coast of England with the purpose of removing pollutants and creating a new marine ecosystem. [Read More]( Related: [‘Forever Chemicals’ Found Contaminating 100% of Florida Oysters Tested]( Global Heat Record for September ‘Shattered’ by Wide Margin Earth’s average temperature has “shattered” the previous record for September by more than 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit, the biggest monthly margin ever recorded. According to separate analyses by [climate scientists]( from [Japan]( and Europe, last month temperatures all over the world were more like July, reported The Washington Post. [Read More]( Related: [Extreme Heat 101: Everything You Need to Know]( Why You Shouldn’t Rake Your Leaves This Fall The weather is getting cooler, the air is feeling crisper, the leaves are turning yellow and red falling from their trees — and this year, leave those leaves be! It’s a common misconception that leaves always kill the grass they fall on. Aside from the fact that [it’s time to ditch our lawns]( in the first place, fallen leaves are very beneficial to your soil, trees and plants, and the ecosystem of your backyard. By bagging them up and hauling them away, you are removing a valuable natural resource from your yard. [Read More]( Related: [The Traditional ‘Imperial Lawn’ Is Dead — Long Live the Trees]( Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, [sign up here]( or forward to a friend. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Website]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2023 EcoWatch, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for EcoWatch Top News of The Day Our mailing address is: EcoWatch 1122 Oberlin RoadRaleigh, NC 27605 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](