Biologists recommend taking your Christmas tree to the backyard, not the curb

Canada’s Christmas tree farms produce over three million pine, spruce and fir trees each year — and most of them are abandoned at the curb soon after Santa makes his annual visit.

Now, the Nature Conservancy of Canada is suggesting that people haul their trees to the backyard instead to help nature and learn a bit about ecology.

WATCH: Canada’s Christmas tree farms produce over three million trees each year and most of them are simply abandoned at the curb once the holidays are over. Now, the Nature Conservancy of Canada is suggesting people keep it in their backyard. Shelley Steeves has more.

1:34 Biologists recommend taking your Christmas tree to the backyard, not the curb

READ MORE: What is cutting into the growing Christmas tree market?

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Dan Kraus, senior conservation biologist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, says trees disposed of in the backyard can provide shelter for birds and squirrels.

Come spring, Kraus says people should cut off the branches and put them in contact with the soil, where they can start to decompose.

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The smaller the branches are and the more contact they have with the soil, the quicker the tree will break down, he adds.

Kraus also says the trunk of the tree can help feed the soil and provide cover for toads and insects.

It often takes a few years for a tree to completely decompose, but Kraus says it’s better than putting the tree in a landfill, where it can create methane gas that’s bad for climate change.