Zoo or Beach: Two Great Ways to Repurpose Your Christmas Tree

If your Christmas tree has been up as long as mine has - since December 3rd-  you are probably making plans to pack away your decorations until next year and get rid of the tree this weekend.

I wanted to make you aware of two really cool alternatives to throwing your old tree in the trash, that will benefit two very important aspects of South Jersey life -- The Cape May Zoo or the Brigantine Beach.

Option #1 is South Jersey's favorite zoo, Cape May Zoo is requesting that you drop off your tree to them for use by the animals. According to a Facebook post from the Cape May Zoo...

Animals like the bison and lions love the smell and push them or carry them around their yards. Other animals, like the deer and wallabies, love the tree forts made by the keepers that act as wind breaks. And some animals, like the goats, love to eat the trees!

Cape May Zoo asks that you make sure all tinsel, hooks, ornaments, fake snow, etc. have been removed from the tree. Christmas trees are being accepted every day through January 10th, during the zoo's winter hours, 10 am - 3:30 pm, at 707 North Rt. 9 in Cape May Court House.

Worthy option #2 is to give your tree to the Brigantine Department of Public Works to be used as a beach snow fence. Here's a Facebook post from Brigantine's DPW...

Old Christmas trees are used at the New Jersey shore to help create needed sand dunes! The Christmas trees act similarly to snow fences. Wind carries sand, which gets blocked by the trees’ branches, thereby creating a dune. The trees eventually deteriorate under the dune, becomes fertilizer and feed the dune grass that is planted the following year.

 

The Brigantine Dep't of Public Works also asks that you remove all tinsel, lights, or ornaments from the tree before dropping it off at 36th and Bayshore Avenue in Brigantine.