![\"Vanderlaand](\"https:\/\/ottawa.ctvnews.ca\/polopoly_fs\/1.5248980!\/httpImage\/image.png_gen\/derivatives\/landscape_960\/image.png\")
<\/p>\nWith Christmas now over, people are taking down their real Christmas trees to throw away.<\/p>\n
Instead of leaving it out on the curb, there is another option – a recyclable one that gives a second life for the unwanted firs.<\/p>\n
South of Winchester at Vanderlaand the Barnyard Zoo, they\u2019ve been feeding used Christmas trees to their livestock for the past five years.<\/p>\n
“They eat the whole thing!” said zoo owner Ruth Vanderlaan.<\/p>\n
“They eat all the needles and they\u2019ll eat some of the branches and they will clean up the bark as well,” Vanderlaan said.<\/p>\n
The trees also offer a surprisingly good natural element.<\/p>\n
“There is nutrition in it but there is also a natural de-wormer in that, so it works really good for them,” Vanderlaan said.<\/p>\n
Snacking on discarded Christmas trees is now a yearly tradition on this farm and on a good year, they will receive almost 200 unwanted trees.<\/p>\n
“I say it\u2019s like I feed them in the morning, I throw a tree in after and it\u2019s their dessert,” Ruth said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
“Last year we still had a few trees in April and May, and you throw them in and it’s not something they get bored off, they enjoy them,” she added.<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s been in a day and a half, two days,” said Ruth’s husband Tony, pointing to a recent de-needled and de-barked tree in a goat pen.<\/p>\n
“We usually go through two or three a day. They nibble off everything, especially the spruce ones they strip it bare,” Tony said. “The Fraser Fir ones, they like them, there are a lot finer needle on them and they even strip the bark off right down bare to the trunk of the tree.”<\/p>\n
Usually the farm would allow specific times to drop off trees, but because of the COVID-19 lockdown, they are letting people drop off anytime during the day at the end of their driveway or along the goat pen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Most cities will pick up discarded trees on garbage day, but if you are looking to recycle that used real tree, farms are the best option.<\/p>\n
“There are many farms that also take them, so seek out other farms as well. The tree is better off not going to the dump…its very recyclable,” Ruth Vanderlaan said.<\/p>\n
Once the trees have been cleaned off, they can also be used once more according to Tony.<\/p>\n
“I use some pallets and a two-by-four and I tie them up on to the two-by-four and it makes a snow fence. Because we have a long laneway and sometimes we\u2019ll have drifts two to three feet high.”<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been keeping the cleaned off trunks to make lawn furniture out of as well, and to teach the local 4H Club about carpentry.<\/p>\n
Normally the Vanderlaans would receive extra-unsold trees from businesses that sell them, but this year, most places sold out quickly.<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t think any businesses have any trees hanging around so we definitely rely on people with their one or two trees,” Ruth said.<\/p>\n
The Barnyard Zoo was open from June to November this year, but had to close their mobile petting zoo because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
![\"Vanderlaand](\"https:\/\/ottawa.ctvnews.ca\/polopoly_fs\/1.5248970!\/httpImage\/image.png_gen\/derivatives\/landscape_960\/image.png\")
<\/p>\n
The Vanderlaans said while the number of visitors was down, almost 70 per cent of people who came were first-timers.<\/p>\n
“My biggest concern was I have to feed animals. I have a lot of mouths relying on the income that we would have brought in through the mobile petting zoo, so we had to re-think and re-plan and I said well we\u2019ll open the farm more and hope and pray people will come and that\u2019s exactly what happened,” Ruth added.<\/p>\n
“We had people that came 10, 20 times throughout last season,” she added. “People were fabulous this year. I have to admit, people who come here are normally very nice people but this year, it seemed to be above and beyond.”<\/p>\n
“Some days I felt like my heart growing talking to lovely people who love the farm.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With Christmas now over, people are taking down their real Christmas trees to throw away. Instead of leaving it out on the curb, there is another option – a recyclable one that gives a second life for the unwanted firs. South of Winchester at Vanderlaand the Barnyard Zoo, they\u2019ve been feeding used Christmas trees to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":62171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6038,984],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n