Green Group discussion

A short life but a merry one...
I don't use a real tree myself but re-use an artificial tree each year. The real trees enjoy a short life sucking carbon out of the air, then are felled to provide jobs and gladden homes and businesses. The trees are generally chipped to make compost in cities, or may provide firewood. New trees are planted each year, absorbing more carbon.

Irish tree growers have gone on line with a central website to help customers have an interactive experience selecting their tree. The tree is shipped from the farm most local to the customer.

"Before Covid graced Ireland with its presence, Casey was mainly working with nightclubs, bars and pubs but as that industry has been badly affected, he decided he would move his attentions elsewhere.

He put out a call to help businesses in his local area to go digital - the call was answered by Christmas tree grower Derek Walsh and so Real Irish Trees was born.

"Derek is based in Waterford, where I'm based," says Casey. "He usually sells Christmas trees every year at a retail site in Waterford but obviously, when the new Level 5 restrictions came about, he realised this could be at risk."

"He didn't even know if he was going to be able to have a physical site this year and so he wanted to pivot, innovate and adapt," he says, "And so he presented me with the idea of an online platform for selling Christmas trees."

For some, buying their Christmas tree is an integral part of the Christmas experience and many farms offer customers the opportunity to come out to the farm and find your own tree in its natural habitat.

This was an experience that Walsh and Casey were trying to recreate with the online platform, not just buying a tree but getting all the information that a chat with the growers can provide."

https://www.rte.ie/news/boost-my-busi...

Murder mysteries about Christmas tree farms....

Santa Clawed Rita Mae Brown
Wagging through the Snow Laurien Berenson

Christmas tree farm again: Courage to Heal included in The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch Volume 2 by Shanae Johnson

Each year we get creative thinking in ways to recycle or otherwise reuse Christmas trees. In general these trees have a short growing life (not looking at the monster, public trees) and no chemical exposure. They help us store carbon and give something useful back to nature.

Thanks to Radio Sverige for these stories.

https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/proj...

"The busy waterway of the Göta Älv is getting a new kind of protection against erosion: discarded Christmas trees.

The Swedish Geotechnical Institute is sinking old Christmas trees along the riverbank to stop it from being washed away by waves made from boats.

Officials hope the trees can bear the shock of the waves long enough to allow plants to grow back and hold the soil in place.
This describes how re-used trees are being placed along a riverbank to help give plants protection."


From the same source, 2019.

"Old Christmas trees are getting new life on the bottom of lake Mälaren, where they are turned into underwater reefs so that fish can spawn.

A harbour dug out to allow for big boats and cruise ships is not good for fish. That's why the city of Stockholm and the Swedish Anglers Association have initiated a project to help fish in the lake - and take care of people's old Christmas trees at the same time.

"Waters that are shallow and have a lot of vegetation are important for the spawning for fish like perch, pike and zander. If we build away these areas, we don't get enough fish in the sea," says fishery biologist John Kärki with the Swedish Anglers association.

Kärki and his colleagues have been collecting used Christmas trees from Stockholmers, and use them to create underwater reefs for the fish to spawn in. This winter, over 400 used Christmas trees will be sunk into lake Mälaren."

https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/7132364

My local park has grey squirrel visitors and I have lately been seeing just how destructive these beasties can be.
They have half stripped a young-mature hornbeam tree of bark, across a three foot wide by long, surface.
The gnawing can be seen at the front of the strip where it meets the bark, by a semi-circular cut front. There are also thin scratches across the exposed underlayer of cambium, from the rodent's claws.

In some cases the tree can make new bark from the edges inwards, and cover the exposed surface. As this tree has a long growing life ahead, ideally it will seal the wound.

The park is a destination for chipped Christmas trees which add mulch, but not much squirrel food.

Alpacas like old Christmas trees too. Lovely idea.

"Ellie Moonan of the Boyne Valley Alpaca Farm said Christmas trees are a good source of nutrition and alpacas love them.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Moonan said pine needles have plenty of vitamins, are a good source of roughage and are good for worm control.
She added that they also make good scratching posts.
...

""This year we've had lots of offers from people who offered last year and we have already started to get them.

"I don't know how many we have now, we have over 50 trees at the moment."

Ms Moonan said they check every tree that is donated to them to ensure they are not sprayed with anything and that there is nothing in the tree that an alpaca cannot eat."

https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2022...

https://lifehacker.com/15-of-the-best...

15 of the Best Species of Live Christmas Trees (and Which to Choose)

Slideshow. Example:

"If you want something a little different, a Colorado Blue Spruce is a good choice. It has a distinct bluish tinge instead of the traditional green, and it grows into a near-perfect triangle shape. While you have to consider the color when selecting ornaments, with a little thought, the Blue Spruce can have a major impact on your holiday decor. Plus, it’s a sturdy tree with branches that can hold heavy ornaments without trouble. Like a lot of sturdy trees, however, the Colorado Blue Spruce will have its revenge on you via its extremely pin-like needles, which will stab you relentlessly unless you wear gloves while decorating."

Christmas Crime in Kingfisher Falls features Christmas tree theft... in Australia. I hadn't really thought about importing and growing these trees there, and will be interested to read which varieties do best. Phillipa Nefri Clark

A few romance stories are set on Christmas tree farms this year. I can recommend this one for a look at the hard work involved, especially after an Oregon wildfire. And it's a family-friendly romance.
The Christmas Tree Farm by Melody Carlson

Well, it's this time of the year again.

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-sustain...

""I think a misconception about sustainability in general is that there are black-and-white decisions where one choice is always better than another choice," says Lorena Grundy, practice assistant professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science. "There are situations in which a real Christmas tree makes more sense and is more sustainable, and there are situations in which a fake tree makes more sense and is more sustainable. There's not just one correct answer."

This is just one way in which Grundy, who also directs the new master's degree program in energy and sustainability engineering launching next fall, encourages her students to think about how lifecycle assessment and material sustainability apply in their day-to-day lives.
...
"She says the most commonly agreed-upon range of how long someone would need to reuse a fake tree to make the carbon footprint less than that of a real tree is seven to 10 years, though studies vary in their estimates. Still, the longer the better, Grundy says.
...
""The other thing to consider is transportation," Grundy says, because getting real trees grown as locally as possible will minimize the environmental impact. "Are you driving your SUV 100 miles to go to a farm to pick your tree, or was it grown next door, or were 100 trees shipped by truck 100 miles together so that the impact of transportation is a lot lower per tree?""

Provided by University of Pennsylvania.