Instead of simply tossing your natural Christmas tree at the curb, why not keep it outside a little longer to provide shelter for birds over the winter?

After the holiday festivities, hundreds of natural Christmas trees end up in ecocentres. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) suggests reusing them by placing them around the house to provide shelter for birds and protect them from the weather and cold.

The Christmas tree can be placed on another tree, on a fence or directly on the ground. Installing it near a feeder can give birds a place to rest.

If feeders were available during the summer and autumn, winter is not the time to stop supplying them. Birds will find it much harder to find an alternative food source, especially during the cold season. We recommend continuing until the thaw.

Adding nuts and/or peanut butter to the tree may also help. As for other animals, such as squirrels, cayenne keeps them away.

With over 166 species of nesting birds in the region, this could be an opportunity to keep the Christmas tree a little longer to watch them from the window. In spring, the tree can remain in the yard to provide nutrients to the soil through its decomposition. Otherwise, ecocentres will accept them.