A 100-meter 'Songpa Ginkgo Path' at Nami Island marks 21 years of free leaf donations; 600 tons of fallen leaves supplied annually to farms, saving 100 million won in disposal costs
Seoul's Songpa-gu is turning autumn's discarded ginkgo leaves into a tourism attraction and agricultural resource, continuing a resource-recycling project that repurposes fallen leaves collected from across the district.
The district will deliver 5 tons of locally collected ginkgo leaves to Nami Island on Thursday to create the "Songpa Ginkgo Path," offering tourists a signature autumn landscape, officials announced.
The partnership between Songpa-gu and Nami Island dates to 2006, making this year the 21st consecutive autumn the district has provided ginkgo leaves to the island free of charge. The roughly 100-meter Songpa Ginkgo Path, laid out along the island's central walkway, is carpeted each year with yellow leaves, giving visitors a distinctive seasonal scene.
Because ginkgo leaves fall earlier on Nami Island than elsewhere, the Songpa-gu supply helps extend the golden canopy, allowing tourists to enjoy the path longer into the season.
The district's leaf-recycling efforts go beyond tourism. Each year, about 600 tons of fallen leaves are supplied free of charge to farms in the greater Seoul area to support eco-friendly agriculture.
Farmers use the leaves as winter insulation for specialty crops or as organic compost. The arrangement benefits both sides: the district cuts its leaf-collection and disposal costs, while farms secure agricultural materials at no cost.
Songpa-gu expects to recycle about 600 tons of leaves this year — roughly 98 percent of the total anticipated — saving an estimated 100 million won ($74,600) in disposal costs.
On Thursday, about 20 district environment workers will load 5 tons of ginkgo leaves onto two 2.5-ton trucks and travel to Nami Island to lay the path themselves.
Songpa-gu District Mayor Seo Gang-seok said the Songpa Ginkgo Path is "a public-private cooperation model that transforms leaves that would otherwise be discarded into a tourism resource, while also supporting organic farms with compost and insulation materials." He added that the district would "continue building Songpa-gu into a leading city for resource recycling through a range of projects."
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