SUSTAINABLE

We are passionate about protecting the heritage of our land, and the local environment.  We're proud of our sustainable Christmas Tree Farm and providing our customers with the best Christmas Trees every season.

 

All our Christmas Trees are especially grown for purpose. For each tree we cut at Christmas Tree Place, Berkhamsted, we plant at least one new Christmas Tree in its place - ensuring that all our production is sustainable. We currently have over 200,000 Christmas Trees growing here in the Chilterns.  Our family have kept bees for four generations and the trees provide an ideal location for the apiary

​

ECOLOGICAL

Our Christmas Tree plantations are sited on land that has previously been used for arable or equestrian use. The Christmas Trees provide much more cover for both mammals and birds than did the previous crops, whilst no broadleaf trees were removed to make way for our plantations.

​

Real Christmas Trees are the environmentally friendly option. Like all trees, Christmas tree plantations act as a Carbon Dioxide store, the difference is we plant more trees each year whilst the number of trees elsewhere (especially in rainforests) sadly dwindle. One acre of Christmas Trees produces the daily requirement of oxygen for 18 people, and whilst growing, each tree fixes carbon dioxide given off by cars and aeroplanes. All trees also split water vapour into hydrogen and oxygen, reducing the humidity of the air surrounding the tree, wood or plantation - this improves air quality during our increasingly hot, humid summers, without the need for power hungry air conditioning units.

​

NATURAL

Artificial trees are far from being a green alternative. They are non -biodegradable, and their manufacturing process requires large amounts of fossil fuels. Their manufacture occurs in countries that have very few, if any, environmental controls on emissions of noxious gasses. The transportation of artificial trees, almost halfway around the world, also adds significantly to their overall carbon footprint.

​

The British Christmas Tree Growers association (BCTGA), of which Christmas Tree Place, Berkhamsted is a member has carried out an analysis of a number of artificial trees. The results were: · All the plastic components were PVC including stands, needles, brackets and branch end plugs. · All others including branches were steel wire. · The wrapping around the base of the two smaller trees was Hessian sacking. · The snow on the trees was polyurethane foam. · Analysis by weight shows that one of the artificial trees is about 60% metal, whilst the others were 80% metal. · Due to high levels of toxic emissions, PVC should never be incinerated for disposal. · The use of twisted wire makes separation of the metal from the PVC virtually impossible.

​

For these reasons none of the plastic trees were found to be easily recyclable and it was concluded that artificial trees all end up in land-fill sites were they would not easily degrade. Unfortunately an artificial tree will last five years in your home, but for centuries in a landfill!