Cultivating the Tree

Approximately 40 million fir trees are sold for Christmas trees in North America each year. Five to Six million of these trees come from Canada. The natural Christmas tree is part of our folklore and contributes to make Christmas an important event, source of an enriching experience.

It is said that many people use artificial trees to save our forests. However, the truth of the fact is that almost all of the trees used for Christmas are cultivated in plantations. It is because of the large demand for Christmas trees, that millions of acres of land, otherwise non usable for cultivation, are utilized. In fact, Christmas tree plantations are often located on non-productive slopes or under power lines. In addition, for each tree that is cut down, ten others are cultivated in plantations to prepare for the next ten years of harvest.

Most trees in Canada are produced from seeds that are put in sowing beds for a two year period before being transferred to a transplant bed for a period of three years; these transplants are then transferred to plantations. It will then take from 7 to 10 years before the tree reaches 2 meters and is ready to be harvested.

In certain regions, mainly in Nova Scotia, the trees are cultivated from naturally sown plantations: the “mother” trees make the necessary seeds to replace the trees that were harvested.

Christmas trees have positive effects on the environment:

• they produce oxygen and eliminate carbon dioxide, reducing the earth’s greenhouse effect
• they improve soil stability
• they improve the esthetic look of cultivated land and give value to portions of land that could not otherwise be used to grow other agricultural products
• they are naturally biodegradable
• they are a renewable resource
• they eliminate carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil combustibles. In fact, one acre of Christmas tree plantation can eliminate up to 13 000 kg of air pollution every year
• Christmas tree farms are refuges for a large variety of birds and other animals.

As for artificial trees, they are made from PVC, plastic and metal, that is to say they are harmful to the environment and are made of non renewable resources. Furthermore, when it is time to get rid of them; artificial Christmas trees pollute our dump yards for several hundred years, because they are not biodegradable. If we consider that the average life of an artificial tree is only six years, you can imagine the enormous damage caused to the environment only by artificial Christmas trees.

In addition, natural Christmas trees are cultivated in our country and have a positive effect on Canadian economy and on employment.