The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) recommends putting your native Christmas tree in your backyard, instead of throwing it away.
Samantha Knight, national conservation science manager for NCC, says leaving it in your backyard over the winter can provide many benefits for backyard wildlife.
“Evergreens offer a safe place for birds to rest while they visit your feeder,” says Knight. “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.”
Knight says 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.
“By fall, the branches and trunk will begin to decompose and turn into soil,” says Knight. “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.”