16 May 2018

Best of Canberra callout: Christmas trees

| Charlotte
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Christmas tree and dotted Christmas ornament. Photo: iStock

Every year, with the best intentions, we trek out to a nursery to buy ourselves a small Christmas tree in a pot which will, we plan, serve us for several years.

We water it, care for it, place it in a shady spot in the garden after Christmas, then go away for summer holidays, but find on our return that the heat-affected tree is never quite the same.

The nurseries have done very well out of us over the years.

In 2016, we’ve decided to opt for a tree that is real but no longer growing. I can see how much easier it would be to buy a human-made tree of some description, but I like to smell pine needles when hanging my decorations.

I’m hoping some of you can recommend a supplier of cut trees that operates sustainably in the region, provide some advice about how to set the tree up once we get it home, as well as giving us tips on what to do with it after Christmas.

Is it better to use a service that delivers, or to collect the tree yourself? What’s the difference in cost?

If you have a recommendation for an alternative to a potted or cut tree that our readers should know about, please let us know about that as well.

Next week, we’ll publish our Best of Canberra recommendations for Christmas tree suppliers and start a gallery of photographs of readers’ Christmas trees. Once your decorations are up, please send us a snap of your tree to inspire the rest of us. You can send photos to us by email to chester@the-riotact.com or via our Facebook page, Instagram or Twitter.

Is there a hashtag for Christmas in the capital? How about #CBRChristmas?

 

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Charlotte Harper10:17 am 29 Nov 16

Just got this press release about cut Christmas trees at Parliament today. It offers some facts and figures about the environmental benefits of plantation trees:

Real Christmas trees arrive at Australian Parliament House

The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) and Canberra Christmas tree delivery company, “the Christmas Tree Truck” are delivering real Christmas trees to Australian Parliament House today (Tuesday), exemplifying the positive contribution forest products industries can make to climate change.

The President of the Senate the Hon Stephen Parry and the Speaker of the House of Representatives the Hon Tony Smith have both agreed to display real Christmas trees in the entrance to the Senate and the House of Representatives.

AFPA Chief Executive Officer Mr Ross Hampton said, “Each tree is just one small example of all trees grown in our commercial plantations and forests around Australia. Each year more than 40 million trees are planted in our commercial plantation forests ensuring that our Australian forestry operations are completely sustainable.”

“These modestly sized trees represent the multiple benefits of our industries. As well as providing timber, each of these trees has removed some 18 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during its growth and is storing around 5 kilograms of carbon in roots, branches and trunk; the equivalent to the emissions from driving almost 100 kilometres in the average Australian car.”

“Australia’s 2 million hectares of plantation forests captures almost 13 megatonnes of carbon dioxide every year, providing a carbon emissions offset equivalent to around 2.5% of Australia’s net carbon emissions. This makes managed forests and commercial plantations, as well as the wood, paper and other products they provide, the only carbon positive sector of the economy.”

“This year our Federal Parliamentarians are celebrating a truly real, traditional Christmas, and also showing their support for the 120,000 Australians who proudly work in the full value chain of forestry with its sustainable operations in both plantations and natural regrowing forests,” said Mr Hampton.

AFPA represents forest growers, harvesters, and manufacturers of timber and paper products.

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