Rent-A-Tree For The Holidays!

Photo Credit: Flickr/lauren-janelle

Most of us will be busy in the coming weeks decorating for the holidays.  And the ‘piece de resistance’ in a lot of homes will be the Christmas tree.  We all have our standard practice and family traditions for this event – some of us go to the makeshift tree lot to buy a precut tree, others wrangle with the box from the attic and set up an artificial one.

One question that I get asked over and over is which is more eco-friendly, a fake tree that you use year after year, or a cut tree?  People are often surprised when I tell them, in my opinion, a real tree is more eco-friendly.  An artificial tree is made from metal and plastic.  Both of those products require resources and chemicals to produce and then form into a tree.  And while you may use an artificial tree for many years in a row, there will come a time when the tree reaches the end of its useful life.  Since many of its components are not biodegradable, the whole thing usually ends up in the landfill.  This creates bulk in our trash and toxins in our soil and water.  A cut tree will return to the earth, literally.  Chip it for mulch, compost it or throw it in the woods, it will break down and not cause harm.

But what if there was an even better way?  What if you could rent a live tree and then send it back to get planted?  Wouldn’t that be great?  Well now you can!  If you live in the Seattle area, the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation is providing live trees that you can take home and decorate and enjoy.  Then return the tree and it will become part of a stream restoration project in the New Year.  Now, that’s holiday decorating you can feel great about!

Trees are available for $30 ($20 rental and $10 refundable deposit) on December 18^th from 10:00 to 2:00.  That’s less than a precut tree!  And your rental fee also gets you a membership to the Adopt-A-Stream program.  They are offering Red Cedar, Sitka Spruce, and Douglas Firs, all less than 5 feet tall.  You don’t need a reservation but you should call them before the pickup date to let them know you are coming, so that they can gauge how many trees they might need.  At home, make sure you have a large drip pan to hold the tree in because the 5 gallon planters have drainage holes.  And water regularly so that the tree stays healthy for its return.

You can take trees back between January 3^rd and 7^th to get your deposit back and get that tree in the ground.  If you are so inclined, ask if you can volunteer on planting day so you can see where that tree ends up.  Find out more on their website www.streamkeeper.org.

If you don’t live in the Seattle area and your neighborhood doesn’t offer a similar service, approach your local nature conservancy or other environmental group and ask if they would be interested in a similar program.  I am sure that any organization would love to lead a project that provided such a green alternative to holiday decorating.  Let me know what’s going on in other areas across the land!  And join me in my new tradition of less waste Christmas trees!

Eco Home Consultations provides green living consultation services in the Seattle area, focusing on practical ways to integrate green living into your household.  Learn more at www.ecohomeconsults.com or email questions about this blog or other green living issues to Melissa@ecohomeconsults.com.