Leaf Litter: What’s in a Name?

Much has been said in this issue about how unfortunate and misleading a label “leaf litter” is for the layers of leaves and organic debris that enrich and protect soil, provide habitat for millions of organisms, recycle nutrients, sequester carbon, and basically sustain many of Earth’s ecosystems. But as we also see throughout this issue, few people in our profession, and increasingly fewer people in general, take the term literally. In fact, neither did we when we decided, 22 years ago, to name this publication Leaf Litter.

Back then, Biohabitats founder, Keith Bowers, recognized the need for a free publication that would serve as a source of information and inspiration for people involved or merely interested in ecological restoration and conservation. While peer-reviewed journals such Restoration Ecology and Ecological Restoration had been around for a while (Ecological Restoration debuted in 1983!), Keith sought to create something with a lighter tone that might appeal as much to nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts as it would to restoration practitioners, academics, and scientists. Keith wanted to highlight advances in our field while also showing examples of the application of ecological knowledge to real issues and real projects in real communities.

In response, we chose to create a quarterly newsletter whose delivery on the Winter and Summer Solstices and Spring and Fall Equinoxes would align with Earth’s biorhythms. We opted to focus each issue of our newsletter on one topic relevant to our field, and to include feature articles, personal essays and opinion pieces, one-on-one interviews with subject matter experts, film and book reviews, nonprofit spotlights, and even artistic expressions. We hoped our little publication would inspire and engage the growing community of people interested in conservation and ecological restoration. But before we could put together our first issue, we needed to name it.

Rather than hire a consultant to come up with a name, we turned to a group that was used to solving unique and sometimes quirky challenges: our team members. We held an internal contest to name our publication, and the winner was former Biohabitats team member, Ellen McClure (who is now Principal Geomorphologist and Portland Regional Director for the firm Herrera). Ellen’s winning entry? Leaf Litter.

According to Ellen, her suggestion was partially a tongue-in-cheek nod to the way emails can pile up like digital “inbox litter,’ “But more meaningfully,” said Ellen, “Leaf Litter is a metaphor for the rich, natural process of idea exchange. Just as fallen leaves accumulate, decompose, and nourish new growth, ideas can gather, evolve, and become the foundation for change.”

Leaf Litter is, truly, an apt name for our publication. Just like leaf litter, our publication is layered. Some elements require deep reading and lots of chewing, while others are broken into smaller, more digestible chunks. Over the years, we have explored topics ranging from endangered species to thawing permafrost; from Living Buildings to sea turtles. During that time, our readership has grown from a few hundred back in 2003 to several thousand, today. Many readers from across the globe have reached out to share feedback, connect with experts or organizations we have featured, or suggest a topic they’d like to see us cover. Like the multitude of organisms within the leaf layer, Leaf Litter’s readers, contributors, and featured professionals form a community that is linked through the exchange of ideas, questions, insight, inspiration, and camaraderie.

Leaf litter is more than a pile of dead leaves, sticks, and woody debris; it brings together a thriving community full of fascinating individuals, groups, and relationships. It serves a purpose and performs many functions within and beyond the community it directly supports. As the editor of this publication for more than two decades, I certainly hope that our Leaf Litter lives up to the name.