TRURO, N.S. — For the Sanderson family, shopping for a Christmas tree is a timeless tradition.
On Saturday, Scott and Denise Cameron took their daughters to pick up a tree in Bible Hill on Dec. 7. They selected a bushy eight-foot specimen, which required all four of them to lift up and haul out of the lot. Fitting the tree into their car’s trunk took a little work, but for Denise Cameron, it was well worth the effort.
“I love the smell of it,” said Denise. “I love that it’s different every year. I love that it’s good for the environment.”
Both buyers and sellers alike agree that natural trees are more environmentally friendly than artificial ones, in an era of climate change and fears over plastic pollution.
Darrell Sanderson, who owns the lot on Main Street and College Road, said many of his customers come to him after ditching their artificial trees for the real thing.
He had a steady stream of customers coming to his lot on Saturday afternoon, which was well stocked with pines up to nine or 10 feet tall.
Sanderson said real trees, after being taken down, can be used to help fertilize flower beds as mulch or as natural bird feeders. Other uses include firewood and even DIY drinks coasters.
“It will go back to nature,” said Sanderson. “A natural tree is the way to go really.”
He said the scent and smell of natural trees is a “real draw,” for his customers.
However, Sanderson himself does not notice the smell anymore, as he spends much of his time planting and harvesting trees in the bush.
He said the process of growing and harvesting Christmas trees is sustainable, as every tree cut down is replaced by a new sapling, keeping carbon out of the atmosphere.
In Sanderson’s view, it is a far cry from fake trees, which are made from fossil fuel-derived products and can take decades to break down if they are thrown out.
“They’re made from artificial products like oils and metals,” said Sanderson.
Scott Cameron said he always chooses to buy natural trees after extensive conversations with his brother, who works in the forestry industry.
As well as being sustainable, buying real Christmas trees in Nova Scotia is the ideal way to celebrate the festive season.
“We’ve got so much forested land we don’t have to worry about [over-harvesting], at least for this purpose,” said Scott.
Indeed, natural tree sellers are enjoying a brisk trade locally. At the Treeland Christmas Tree Farm’s lot on 212 Willow Street, the racks are lined with balsam firs and white and Scots pines.
Treeland technician Peter Dorey said this lot saw a surge of customers first thing in the morning. Another wave of customers came to buy trees and wreaths after lunch.
“We usually have repeat customers,” said Dorey. A lot of people that we deal with are liking the natural Christmas trees, business has been pretty steady. The frost [in June 2018] hurt us a little bit, but we’ve recovered from that.”
In 2018, Treeland struggled to meet customer demand after that year’s June frost ruined 80 per cent of its stock.
