Why it is good to cut your own Christmas Tree?

Real vs. Artificial. One may think that by choosing artificial/plastic Christmas tree you are helping the environment. Wrong. Fake plastic trees are made from well... plastic and metal – both are not that ecologically friendly materials to produce and especially dispose of. Average life of fake tree is six years. After that it goes to the dump and it’s not biodegradable material at all. Real Christmas tree is fully recyclable/biodegradable and don’t forget – while it grows it produces oxygen, not the pollutions. BTW: 85% of fake trees in North America are made in China.

Is it a killing? No it’s called farming. All the Christmas trees nowadays are grown on the farms. Next year the new tree is planted in place of old one. Also, Christmas trees can grow on the land not well suited for farming other commercial crops.

Supermarket vs. local farmer. Support the local economy – it’s that simple. Trees you buy at supermarket were grown elsewhere… You are paying for transportation, distribution, marketing etc. These supermarket trees may be grown outside of the province or even outside of the country. Buying from a local farmer – everything but GST you pay remains right here in the area you live. It helps directly or indirectly to create jobs for your friends, relatives and descendants. Buying from local farmer you are also ensuring that the farmland near you is not paved over. Some day we’ll wish we had that farmland again.

Here is the map of Christmas tree farms around Toronto.

It’s fresh! Supermarket trees… you may only guess when it was cut and how long it stood on the shelf. At local farm you pick and cut one yourself.

And it’s fun. Take your kids and the dog, warm at the bonfire, take a toboggan ride at the local Christmas Tree farm!