Streams and Christmas trees: Restoration Impacts-Over the summer the TUC Ontario Small Watershed Action Team (SWAT) received over 300 used, donated Christmas trees from two major sources: Somerville Nurseries Inc. and the Ignatius Jesuit Centre (IJC)  The donated Christmas trees, that would otherwise be brought to municipal dumps or burned at the end of the holiday season, were instead diverted and installed as part of multiple stream rehabilitation structures in Southern Ontario.

These Christmas trees now play an important role in helping to capture excess sediment during high flows in local streams and help to build new banks. In turn, this will help to narrow, deepen and cool native Brook Trout streams.

If you live in the Guelph area, please consider visiting Trees for Tots program to arrange for curbside pickup of your Christmas tree at the end of the holidays in exchange for a small donation to the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington.

These local trees are then provided to the Ignatius Jesuit Centre where they are either turned into wood chips for their public walking trails or they are given to Trout Unlimited Canada by IJC for local restoration projects.

A big thank you to Somerville Nurseries and the Ignatius Jesuit Centre for their donations and continued investment in local stream rehabilitation projects.