Originally published in Lake of the Woods Area News, Volume 54, Number 5, Winter 2024
The holiday season is a wonderful time of year. Consider making it even more special by reducing unnecessary expenditures, using your creativity, and making sustainable choices when it comes to decorating your Christmas tree and your home.
Natural vs artificial. The best option may surprise you!
Many people struggle with whether it is better to purchase an artificial Christmas tree or choose to get a real tree. Here are some points to consider when you are making your choice.
The Nature Conservancy (nature.org) supports the use of real Christmas trees. They argue that real trees help fight climate change, and even though the tree is cut down, forests are still being supported. Only a small fraction of trees grown on tree farms are harvested each year. Buying real trees helps keep tree farms thriving, and in turn, this land remains a healthy forest that wildlife depend on for food and habitat. It takes around seven years to grow an average-sized Christmas tree, absorbing carbon from the atmosphere as it grows. New seedlings are planted to replace harvested trees. Also, real trees can be recycled/reused and given a second life as mulch for landscaping, gardening, and erosion control. You can also choose to leave the tree in your backyard for wildlife to make use of, especially if you include some edible decorations.
On the other hand, artificial trees can be used for many years if well cared for, but they have drawbacks. The production of artificial trees consumes significant resources including plastic and metals. Many artificial trees are produced in China which gives them a large carbon footprint by the time they arrive in our living rooms. The One Tree Planted organization (onetreeplanted.org) reports that a consumer would need to reuse an artificial tree for at least 10 years to have the same impact as using a live tree each year. That does not consider the environmental impact of the plastic once you dispose of the tree.
Tap into nature for eco-friendly decorations
During the pandemic our family transitioned our annual Christmas celebration from the city to the lake. We agreed we would simplify our traditional celebration, and work to make our gathering both creative and sustainable. We harvested our Christmas tree on our property under the hydro lines, as we knew these trees would eventually be cut down by Hydro One. We decided to use only natural materials from the outdoors, and work towards decorating our tree in a way that wildlife could enjoy our tree once the Christmas season was over. Here are some of the materials we used to make our sustainable ornaments.
- Using jute and a darning needle, we strung together fresh cranberries. Strings of popcorn or peanuts would have been another great option for the birds and squirrels to eat after Christmas.
- Dry orange, lemon or lime peels were used to make fragrant and edible ornaments.
- Using the bark from a downed birch tree, we cut out shapes such as stars, moons and gingerbread men. Strips of birch bark were threaded to make an attractive birch chain.
- Pinecones sourced from a variety of evergreen species were hung with jute. Consider covering these cones with seeds and peanut butter when you hand the tree over to your backyard wildlife.
- Pinterest is a great place to find other ideas on how you can make beautiful, creative and edible ornaments for your tree, and decorations for your table and home.
In the spirit of the season, how about giving Mother Earth the gift of sustainable choices for decorating and celebration.
Tree recycling options include:
- The City of Winnipeg’s has the “Let’s Chip In” Christmas tree recycling program. Drop off at one of the many depots around Winnipeg.
- The City of Kenora offers free Christmas tree recycling at the Transfer Station (401 Mellick Ave) every January.
