Staying Green this Holiday Season: Recycling Christmas Trees

After the holidays, our thoughts turn to what to do with our Christmas tree now that its role as centerpiece is over. Many people think of very creative ways to re-use their trees, and others rely on community programs for disposal of their trees. Trees can be recycled and used for interesting functions including bird feeders/shelters, fuel chips and mulch.


One of my favorite newsletters, Dave's Garden, has just reprinted a few ideas for people to re-use their Christmas trees in their own yard:

• Do you live on a farm with a fish-stocked pond? The tree can be immersed in the deepest part to provide a habitat for the fish and aquatic animals living there.
• Do you have a backyard “habitat”? Cut the tree in half (or thirds, if it is very large), then push the sections back into the underbrush around the perimeter, or under large shrubs in your “wild” area. In the spring, sow seeds for fast-growing or vining plants that will quickly cover the bare branches.
• Do you have a wood-burning stove or a fireplace? Cut the trunk into suitable lengths and add to your woodpile for future fuel. NEVER try to burn the dry branches in a stove or fireplace; they are highly combustible and can quickly burn out of control.
• Do you own a wood-chipper or have access to one? Chip the tree into mulch for spring, or to dry for fire-starter fuel.
• If none of these ideas would work for you, check your local town website or newspaper to see if the city maintenance department is offering a collection site. Many smaller towns mulch these trees for use in city projects, and often invite residents to help themselves to the city mulch pile.

The author's list inspired me to start looking at some of the community-based options available in Michigan. Many of our cities, townships and counties offer recycling programs that include drop-off points where residents can take their trees. Some even offer curbside pickup. Here is a short list of community programs in Michigan to help you decide where to take your tree after the holiday:

The city of Grand Rapids offers free drop-off recycling, and curbside pickup for a very small fee for most of the month of January.

Cascade Township's dropoff point is a fire station, from 12/26 through 1/11.

Oakland County residents can use the several drop-off points hosted by the Oakland County Parks. from 12/25 through 1/16.

Earth 911 lists Johnston Farm & Composting as a drop-off location for Christmas trees, for a fee, in Livingston County.

I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. If these are all too far from you, by all means take a look at your local newspaper & see what's available nearby. I'd love to see what you find, too - please share in a comment!

Happy Holidays!!

Winter Wonderland Party

The weather outside looks wonderful for next week, and we want to celebrate it! Come join us for a hayride next Thursday, December 30, for our first-ever Winter Wonderland Hayride Party! Details are still in the works, but right now we do know that we'll have hayride tours of the farm, and a hot dog & marshmallow roast complete with hot drinks. Keep an eye on our facebook page - as we figure out the nitty gritty, we'll post an event with times, details, prices and rsvp instructions. We can't wait!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

I've been having fun reading about pumpkins and squash lately. Here are a few things I've learned you can do with them. Ok, I already know about most of it, but these are some of the more eye-catching web pages I've seen.

Carve a jack-o-lantern in your favorite silly, scary, using nifty tools and a basic template
or get more involved with specialty carving techniques
A friend carved this one for us early in the season:


Underwater Pumpkin Carving - yes, you really can carve a pumpkin under water!

Paint fun faces or designs on them, sometimes with a 4-H club

Make lots of delicious treats with the flesh and the seeds.
Like pie, custard, muffins, waffles, cheesecake and about half a dozen more just on the linked page! This applies to both pumpkins and squashes - and with squashes' slightly varying flavors, you can experiment with any recipe for subtle taste changes.

Roasting squash seeds: I like to cut open small squashes of two or three different kinds and roast all the seeds the same way, then compare their flavors. My favorite so far is Delicata seeds, which is also my favorite squash for a quick, microwaved treat.

You can take stop-action footage of a carved pumpkin wilting. Or you can just look at a video in a stock footage collection.

And here are some of my personal favorites:

You can visit a pumpkin patch and let fly on a pumkpin launcher


and then watch it zip over the terrain -or pond- as far as you can make it go!















And of course, you can spend time with your family choosing just the right pumpkin to become the canvas for your own artwork. Visiting a pumpkin patch with a hayride and other family activities is one of the best ways to spend a weekend afternoon!