Utah Life Outdoors

Christmas is fast approaching now that Thanksgiving has passed and many of you may be deciding to either have an artificial or real tree this year. With buzz words like green and sustainable flying around here are a few simple steps to help your Christmas become more eco-friendly.

• Greenest: Decorate a big tree in your yard so the whole neighborhood can enjoy. String some cranberries and cover some pine cones with suet and bird seed to see what wild life comes to visit from your window.

• Greener: Visit your local nursery and purchase a live tree. This type of tree does best if you acclimate it first in your garage for a few days before bringing it in. Only keep the tree in the house up to 5 days then return it to the garage for a few days and then take it outside. When the weather warms up in the spring you can plant it in your yard.

• Green: Get your tree from a local tree farm where the farmers plant their crop each spring and then harvest it in the fall. After Christmas you can recycle your tree at a mulch yard.

• Not Green: An artificial tree pollutes the planet during the production and will eventually end up in a land fill.

Tags: Cut your own Christmas tree, green tree, Utah Christmas