Rotting Is
Not Rotten
at THE DOG PARK
Meet Wiley the dog, who’s found a surprise—a hollow log that’s teeming with life inside.
Wiley loves to visit the park to play.
While he likes to run and fetch, he’d rather seek and sniff for decay.
He looks for clues of life, death and wee-creatures.
He digs rotten things after hearing from teachers,
“Sticks, leaves and logs are left in the park. Don’t pick them up until they lose all their bark.”
We want them to rot. It serves a big purpose.
To support new life, just under the surface. The rot looks like waste, but it’s not the same as litter. It’s food for the soil, and home to many a critter.
When the rotting begins, what is green turns to brown.
But there’s lots more happening just below the ground.
A log will soften and crumble into dirt
from fungi, like mushrooms, and bacteria —
which does not hurt.
Worms, ants, and slugs wiggle under the ground,
Eating old, dead things they find all around.
Millipedes crawl where fallen leaves stay,
Making cozy homes in their own special way.
They use leftover energy from things that have died,
And turn it to fresh soil they provide.
That soil helps plants and new life begin,
Recycling the earth so it grows again!
For many months and years, they make the rot their home.
A delicious buffet in their own biome.
It’s a safe place with little to fear,
where they will nibble and thrive
for year after year.
After some time,
the rot might look icky.
But it’s not really that smelly,
and rarely is sticky.
This process is natural.
It’s meant to be.
It helps nurture the soil,
the plants and the trees.
The circle of life includes death, too.
The decaying brush
and dying leaf
must do as leaves do.
So after they die,
we just let them lie
and slowly renew the ground.
They’re not rotten,
just rotting.
Their impact is truly profound.
Wiley has learned this,
and now you have too.
So go seek out some rotting things.
They’re too good to be true.
Thank you to our partners.
Information for this story was provided by Pottawattamie Conservation
Author: Lynn Stoller and Pottawattamie Conservation
Illustrator: Lynn Stoller
Published: 2025
Be there to see it. Be there to read it.
Location
Rotting Is Not Rotten
Meet Wiley the dog, who’s found a surprise—a hollow log that’s teeming with life inside. Dead leaves and fallen sticks may look like litter, but they provide nutrients for plants and home to many a critter.