You may not be thinking about ditching the Christmas tree just yet, but when you do, the Nature Conservancy of Canada wants you to think about the birds.
Instead of putting it out on the curb or driving it out to the yard waste depot, it is asking people to put it in your backyard.
"Leaving it in your backyard over the winter can help provide a home for bird populations trying to survive the tough weather," said Senior Conservation Biologist, Dan Kraus. "The tree will enrich your backyard ecosystems right away, and it can also improve soil."
He said evergreens could give birds shelter on cold nights and during storms.
"You can even use your old tree as a bird feeder by redecorating it with pine cones filled with peanut butter, strings of peanuts, and suet," said Kraus.
By the spring the tree will have lost most of its needles, so cut the tree branches, and lay them where spring flowers start to emerge in your garden.
Kraus said it would mimic what happens to dead trees and branches in a forest by helping to build the soil. Toads will find shelter under the log, and pollinators like carpenter bees will burrow into the wood.
"By fall you'll start to witness the final stage of life of your Christmas tree as the branches and truck begin to decompose and turn into soil.," he added. "Many of our Christmas trees, particularly spruce and balsam fir, have very low rot resistance and break down quickly."
