Chop chop, timber were the sounds of about 30 trees on Saturday on a property outside of Saskatoon owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Spruce trees alter the soil chemistry when they shed their needles, making the soil more acidic and inhospitable to many plants.
They also provide refuge or corridors for animals that aren’t welcome in the area.
Volunteers helped tackle the spruce trees planted and in return, they got a free Christmas tree out of it.
“While we were doing our annual inspections we noticed that the previous owners had planted some spruce trees and some pine trees, and they are a bit out of their range,” said Matthew Braun, manager of conservation and planning.
“It’s a bit farther south than they should be and so as part of our management plan to manage the property we have decided we are going to remove these trees instead of chopping them up and throwing them away.”
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Volunteers helped remove some of the spruce trees planted and families such as the Cho’s searched for that perfect tree.
“We are just going with the flow today even if it’s a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. We are happy with that,” said volunteer Cheryl Cho.
This is the second year of the event and the Cho’s hope to make it a Christmas tradition.
“We heard about it through the NCC and we have been involved with them a little bit so we are always looking for ways to get involved with their group because they do great work and it’s a great way to celebrate the holidays and be outside on a beautiful day,” Cho said.
The event was all part of a restoration project to help local species that are negatively impacted by large evergreens.
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