There are numerous benefits to the environment and the neighborhood of a local Christmas Tree farm.
I'm lucky that my firend runs a Christmas Tree farm right down the road. Not only is it a convenient place to get my holiday decor, but it also means that my neck of the woods will stay a little wilder. You see the money my neighbor makes growing his crop of balsam, fir and spruce allows him to cover his taxes on his extra acerage. And that means he probably won't be turning his fields into house lots anytime soon.
And while you may think that rows of planted trees aren’t exactly natural, you’d be surprised how much habitat they provide. Many species of songbirds for example, including our state emblem the Purple Finch, often nest in the dense branches of the evergreens. Finding a nest inside your Christmas Tree can be good luck, plus decorating with natural materials is so trendy now.
Other wildlife that take advantage of these configurations of conifers include hawks, foxes and even snakes. They're attracted, of course, by the small animals that live in the grassy areas around the trees. Deer, moose and turkeys also enjoy the cover and forage possibilities these farms provide.
On a bigger scale all those vigorously growing Christmas Trees help combat global warming by absorbing tons of carbon dioxide and exhaling a fair share of clean oxygen. These plantations also do a good job of helping to purify water. Plus these festive conifers are often the only crop that will grow in the areas they're planted, and thereby turn less than productive patches into some profit for our farmers.
Everyone wishes for a white Christmas, and I do to. But I'm also hoping that each year it will get greener and greener.
