• View ecochildsplay’s profile on Facebook
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Twitter
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Instagram
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Pinterest
  • View Jennifer Lance’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on YouTube
  • View ecochildsplay’s profile on Google+

Eco Child's Play

Live a greener, healthier life!

  • Environment
  • Pregnancy
  • Food & Recipes
  • Health News
  • Parenting
  • Green Toys
  • Beauty & Beauty Products
  • Green Home & Cleaning
  • Contact

Find the Perfect Green Christmas Tree

Is it possible to celebrate Christmas without buying a dead tree or, worse, substituting a tree altogether with a vaguely tree-like heap of plastic, metal, and tinsel? Yes! Let’s look at three ways to find your perfect Christmas “sustainabili-tree.”

The first option you should consider is bringing a live tree into your home. It doesn’t have to be a huge evergreen tree. It could be whatever trees are common to your area, or whichever species you might fancy planting around or near your house. (In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a tree. Some bushes and shrubs look very tree-like and acclimate wonderfully to indoor living.) You could even plant a fruiting tree, like a persimmon tree if it grows in your climate, which offers beautiful and sweet fruit during the Christmas season. It might take a year or two after planting to fruit, but you’ll have a cache of delicacies when it does.

Before you buy the tree, it might be a good idea to call the city parks and recreations dept. and find out which city dept. or NGO in your area plants trees. Ask them for recommendations about which tree would be best to buy and plant and also ask them if you can donate your tree to them after Christmas for planting somewhere in your city. If you can’t find such a dept. or organization, contact local schools and ask if you can plant a tree on campus or contact nature/youth groups and ask if they would be up to the challenge of planting a tree somewhere. You can also ask your local nursery about tree types and planting tips.

Last year, in my house, we had a live Christmas tree. It wasn’t a pine, a spruce, or a fir… It was a “strawberry tree,” so-called for the strawberry-like fruits it bares in in the fall/winter. It was different certainly, but had beautiful, tiny bell-shaped flowers, which were like natural ornaments.

We bought it from a local nursery, and of course we had to water it, make sure it had enough sunlight, and introduce it first to the temperature of our house. However, it really brought back the original meaning of having a Christmas tree in your home in the first place.

The idea of having a Christmas tree, so I’ve been told, was to welcome something alive and green into your home in the middle of an otherwise dead, white, and cold time of the year. This is best accomplished with a live tree. It feels wonderful to know that you are caring for a living tree for a few weeks during winter when all outside is cold.

After Christmas, we managed to donate the tree to the Friends of the Urban Forest, in San Francisco, where we were living. The group cared for the tree in one of its nurseries until it was ready to plant somewhere in the city. It’s great to know that somewhere in San Francisco is growing our dear little Christmas tree.

This brings me to the second suggestion. Friends of the Urban Forest are offering the opportunity for people to buy Christmas trees that will be planted in San Francisco after Christmas. This is an especially wonderful opportunity if you live near the Bay Area and can help with the planting, however, it’s a great way to celebrate trees during Christmas no matter where you live. Check out www.fuf.net before December 19’th to buy/adopt a live tree and have it planted in San Francisco.

Third, there is something that I’ve been meaning to do for a while, but haven’t yet done. This is to decorate a tree outside. Maybe last year you bought a live tree and planted it somewhere in your yard. You can bring your ornaments (waterproof ones) and Christmas lights (LED?) out and light up your neighborhood.

It must also be said in defense of Christmas tree farms that they continuously replant and care for carbon-capturing evergreen trees that give us clean air for a number of years on the farm before being cut. However, why not let the little guys live a little longer? It isn’t nearly as rewarding and wonderful an experience to cut down a tree and toss it on the curb a week later than it is to care for and plant or donate a living tree. And you know the saying, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second-best time is today.”

Any way you go, Merry Christmas, and have a wonderful holiday season.

Additional Resources Worth Checking Out:

Greening Your Christmas Tree | Care2

Photo Source:

My Wild River Christmas Tree / L’arbre de Noël de ma rivière sauvage | Flickr

[This post was written by Gavin Hudson.]

  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • WhatsApp
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe!

« Imagination, Inspiration & the Next Generation
Naturally Eliminate Odor-Causing Bacteria »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search Content

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter


About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.

Contact Eco Child’s Play

It’s Time to Quit Plastics and How to do It

Reduce Plastic Waste with re-brush Eco-Friendly Toothbrush

More from the archives!

Mother's Milk: Breastfeeding Beyond Six Months

Organic vs. Conventional: Is the Proof in the Nutrition?

Tees for Change: Great Gifts for Mom and Baby

Sound the Alarm

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

COVID Back to School: Helping children cope with uncertainty

covid19 pregnancy

Does the Coronavirus Attack the Placenta and cause 2nd Trimester Miscarriages?

Information

  • About & Contact
  • Archive
  • Blog
  • Consulting Services
  • Disclaimer, Disclosure, & Sponsored Posts
  • Privacy Policy
logo
Food Advertising by

The Skip Hop Mate – BPA and Melamine Free

benefits of bedtime stories

5 Benefits of Bedtime Stories

Holidays Behind Us

Happy Second Birthday Eco Child's Play!

9 Million More Toys Recalled by Mattel for Dangerous Magnets

Popular Categories

  • Breastfeeding
  • Health News
  • Natural Childbirth
  • Parenting
  • Education
  • Product Review
  • Green Toys

Get our posts via email

Please stay in touch!

You might also like to read…

UK Study: Schools & Daycares Expose Kids to Toxic PCBs

Why is there crude oil in my kid's mac and cheese? It's the yellow #5 and #6

Why is there petroleum in my kid’s mac and cheese? It’s the yellow #5 and #6 food coloring

Hank D and the Bee: Green for a Day

Eco Kids' Books: BogeyBugz Series

Touch DNA Effects

Human Touch Affects DNA: Hold Your Baby; Hug Your Teen

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNoPrivacy policy