How can your old Christmas tree to help wildlife?
Did you welcome a real tree into your home or workplace this year? The Butterfly Conservation organisation have some great ideas on how to give your old tree a second chance to help wildlife, we liked them so much we wanted to share them with you…
Turn it into a habitat pile
Bug hotels and log piles are really popular and Christmas trees can make a brilliant addition to this, lots of different species use bug hotels as they provide a place to shelter, to roost, to pupate and to overwinter for butterflies and moths. You can keep the tree intact tucked away in a corner, underneath a hedge or at the back of a flowerbed, you can add other twigs, leaves and natural materials to bulk it out. Alternatively you can chop the branches off and add them to existing bug hotels and log piles which is what we are going to do as out bug hotel is looking a bit bare in places.
Create a feeding station.
Winter is a hard time for our bugs and wildlife, you can treat these little critters by creating a fruit skewer feeding station! Either lean the tree against a wall or hedge or “plant” it in the ground and cut the branches back to create skewers to load up with fruit like apples, oranges and bananas.
Some butterflies like the Red Admiral overwinter here and will search for nectar and will fly on sunny days to fill up on the rotting fruit, birds and other wildlife also enjoy a fruity snack during the winter months.
Make a dead hedge
A dead hedge is a hedge-like structure but made up of old logs, branches and twigs, held together by vertical branches or posts. Use your old tree to start or add to a dead hedge and help provide habitat for insects, mammals and small birds.
Make it into a plant climber
Climbing plants like Ivy, Honeysuckle and Jasmine are brilliant for wildlife like butterflies, moths and other pollinators, providing both nectar and food for caterpillars. Use your old tree as a climbing structure for plants like these by popping it into the ground or in a large pot or planter, and loosely tie in your climber to encourage it to grow up the tree.
