A number of people in the Saskatoon area ventured to a lot northeast of the city on Saturday, chopping down a Christmas tree – for free – while doing nature a favour at the same time.
Christina Tollett took advantage of a call from the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Tollett, who makes a point of buyinga natural tree each year, made the drive to Alvenato help cut down a speciesconsideredinvasive to the area.
"We thought it was a great way to get involved in the community, and it's also a great way to help out the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and, you know, we wanted a Christmas tree,” Tollett said.
Tree species like white spruceare not naturally found asfarsouth as the Alvena area, according to the conservancy
"We thought it'd be nice to get some people out so that the trees could be sort of repurposed, I guess, and it gets people outside during the winter," said Emily Little, Stewardship Coordinatorat the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
The evergreen treeswere planted by a previous owner,Little said,and can alter the soil chemistry. She said the needles can make the soil too acidic for native plants. The trees arealso thought to provide refuge for animals that wouldn’t otherwise be in the area.
With files from Albert Delitala.
