26 Mar 2025

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The crisp feel of autumn is in the air, marking the start of another busy leaf fall season for Christchurch City Council.

The number of mature deciduous trees in Christchurch sees leaf fall season typically run from April until July.

Although weather like high winds or heavy rainfall can speed up the process of trees shedding their leaves.

“With 980 high leaf fall areas, this is one of our busiest times of year with contractors already on the ground making sure footpaths, sumps and gutters are clear,” City Streets Maintenance Manager Steve Guy said.  

“Last year they added new trucks to their fleets including one which grinds leaves as they go, so they can clear more streets before needing to empty a load.”

Areas where leaves impact stormwater drainage, hinder the growth of underlying plants or compromise safety of pedestrians, cyclists and other road users are prioritised.  

“Along with the routine schedule our contractors are on standby to respond to requests that come through the Contact Centre so if you see a blocked drains or leaves piling up, please report it via the Contact Centre or our Snap Send Solve app,” Mr Guy said.  

“People can also help reduce build-up by clearing leaves from their berms and gardens and putting them in the green bin.”

“Or home gardeners can pile leaves on garden borders to break down, which makes great compost.”

He urged people not to rake them up and pile them onto berms as they can’t be reached by sweepers and will often just get blown away again.

“Please don't wait for the crews to clear the leaves from the streets and then empty leaves from private gardens back into the road. This has a significant impact on our ability to clear other streets, and may result in it taking us longer to get back to those streets again."