There’s something a bit sad about having to dispose of your Christmas tree, isn’t there? Whether you’re dropping it off somewhere or having it picked up, it seems a lonely end for this tree after it has contributed to so much pleasure over the holidays.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada suggests another option for you to consider. If you hate the idea of throwing out your tree every year, think about putting it in your backyard.
The NCC is a not-for-profit, private land conservation group. Its senior conservation biologist, Dan Kraus, says that leaving your tree in your yard for the winter would be beneficial for your local wildlife during the cold months that stretch ahead.
Wondering how to make that happen? You can prop your Christmas tree near another tree in your backyard. Or you can lean it up against a fence or lay it down in a garden. You can fill pine cones with peanut butter to feed the birds. If you were to add strings of edibles like suet and peanuts they’d love it.
Kraus says that tree branches and trunks can continue to offer benefits after the season changes and warmer weather arrives. Your tree can still provide shelter for birds as well as offering protection for wildflowers. Helpful animals and insects will be drawn to your tree.
Over time your tree will decompose. The more contact its trunk and branches have with the ground, the faster this will occur, enriching the soil and retaining needed moisture.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada and its partners have helped to conserve 35 million acres in Canada since 1962.
Image by Katie-lea Poynton from Pixabay