There’s another way to deal with a live Christmas tree once the holidays are over.
As part of its Small Acts of Conservation program, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) suggests putting the tree in the backyard where it can benefit wildlife.
Even on its side the dead tree can provide shelter from cold and snow for bird populations that stay in the area.
Other suggestions are to prop the tree up against a fence and redecorate with pine cones filled with peanut butter, strings of peanuts and suet for birds. That way the tree can provide food and shelter.
“Evergreens offer a safe place for birds to rest while they visit your feeder,” Samantha Knight, national conservation science manager for NCC, said. “Another benefit is that if you leave the tree in your garden over the summer, it will continue to provide habitat for wildlife and improve your soil as it decomposes.”
By the time spring comes the tree will have lost most of its needles and that’s the time to cut the branches, laying them near spring flowers that will soon emerge.
Knight, who manages the not-for-profit, private land conservation group, said the tree branches and trunk can provide habitat, shelter wildflowers, hold moisture and help build the soil, mimicking what happens with dead trees and branches in a forest. Toads can seek shelter under the log, and insects, including pollinators such as carpenter bees, will burrow into the wood.
“By fall, the branches and trunk will begin to decompose and turn into soil,” Knight added. “Many of our Christmas trees, particularly spruce and balsam fir, have very low rot resistance and break down quickly when exposed to the elements. The more contact the cut branches and trunk have with the ground, the quicker it will decompose. Drilling holes in the tree trunk will speed up that process.”
Backyards have their own ecosystems and provide an opportunity to learn about forest ecology. By leaving the Christmas tree in the backyard, it shows its life cycle and people can observe its impact on backyard biodiversity.
The City of Prince George offers Christmas tree chipping that is free for trees less than three inches in diameter. Remove all decorations, including tinsel. Only naked trees will be accepted at Foothills Boulevard Landfill, hours are Monday to Friday from 7 am to 5 p.m., Saturday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At the Quinn Street Transfer Station, 1687 Quinn St., Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. At Vanway Transfer Station, 6556 Broddy Rd., Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on city tree disposal call 250-561-7600.
