The Christmas Trees for the Forest initiative aims to save threatened woodlands during the festive season by encouraging people to donate a Christmas tree to the forests — instead of cutting one down.
Image: Bergwaldprojekt e.V.
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"Buy trees instead of gifts," insists Swiss-based Bergwaldprojekt (Mountain Forest Project). The organization wants to bolster native forests that have suffered an unseasonably long and dry summer — due in part to climate change.
Despite the fact that traditional Christmas tree plantations are also struggling to survive this year, 27 million trees will be cut down and decorated in homes across Germany.
When the holiday season is over, most will end up in landfills — and will emit climate change-inducing carbon instead of sequestering it as they would in living forests.
Real or plastic?
It seems that whichever kind of Christmas tree you choose, real or plastic, it comes with an environmental footprint.
Unlike locally grown trees, the plastic variety are usually imported from across the planet, entailing plenty of emissions from transport; plus they're made of non-biodegradable PVC and — unlike small conifers — are difficult to recycle.
One sustainable alternative floated in recent years is renting, but even then delivery means there are transport emissions to worry about.
The only way to offset the cultural yearning for Christmas trees in Germany and elsewhere might be to plant a tree.
With its Christmas Trees for the Forest initiative, the Bergwaldprojekt will do the planting for you for only €17 ($19.30) — and also ensure the tree's ongoing maintenance and protection.
"With our tree donation you make family, friends or colleagues a special Christmas present that does not consume more resources but benefits the forest," promises the woodland conservation organization.
Failing crop
Following months of drought in Germany, Christmas tree growth has suffered in plantation forests that struggle to adapt to the dry soils and lack of rainfall.
Crops have been severely depleted, with up to 30 percent of the Christmas tree crop failing in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia alone.
Christmas trees for a sustainable futureImage: DW/T. Walker
Read more: Germany's Christmas trees threatened by climate change
The German Association of Christmas Tree Growers has acknowledged that shortage of rain has affected tree size, price and availability.
"In some places, it hardly rained between April and October," the organization says on its website. "The soils are extremely dry in these places."
Still, the association adds that popular imported varieties such as the Nordmann fir — which originates in the Caucasus where long, dry summers are the norm — can better endure such conditions, thanks to its deep taproots.
The Bergwaldprojekt, however, would rather see local trees given a chance.
It aims to regenerate mixed native forests precisely because it believes monoculture forests are less adaptable to annual temperature rises and prolonged drought — especially the shallow-rooted spruce that dominate Christmas tree plantations.
Bergwaldprojekt volunteers preparing the forest ground for new growthImage: Bergwaldprojekt e.V.
"The Bergwaldprojekt plants indigenous trees in various areas all over Germany to protect native forests," Peter Naumann, a forester with the Bergwaldprojekt, told DW.
"Mostly, we plant the trees in the low mountain ranges — silver firs, common beeches, oaks and hornbeams — but also rarer broadleaved trees suitable for dry and warm areas, such as mountain ashes, sorb trees, walnut trees and Norway maples."
Sponsored Christmas trees will be part of this effort.
According to a 2017 report by researchers at the Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research in Leipzig, mixed native forests are more climate resistant, and therefore have the best chance of surviving in a warming world.
Forests in Germany
50 years ago the Bavarian Forest was declared a national park. Germans love the diversity of their forests and enjoy hiking through woodland areas. We show you a selection of fascinating forests.
Image: picture alliance/G.Delpho/WILDLIFE
Bavarian Forest National Park
The treetop path near Neuschönau leads the visitors over 1.3 kilometers to undreamt-of heights and opens uniquely beautiful views over the landscape of the Bavarian Forest, especially from the 44 meter high tree tower. In 1970 the Bavarian Forest was declared a national park - the first in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Weigel
Berchtesgaden National Park
It's the only German national park in the Alps. Because of its high mountain location, with a bit of luck, hikers here can spot such rare animals as the alpine ibex, golden eagle, alpine hare and alpine marmot.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Görlich
Black Forest National Park
Since January 2014, parts of the Northern Black Forest have been under special protection. The North Black Forest National Park in Baden-Württemberg is a showcase project championed by Winfried Kretschman, state premier and Green Party member.
Image: picture-alliance/Ronald Wittek
Jasmund National Park
It's Germany's smallest national park, but that doesn't diminish its beauty. Jasmund National Park, in the far north of the island of Rügen, is home to one of the world's few surviving primeval beech forests. In 2011, UNESCO declared it part of the World Heritage Site, "Ancient Beech Forests of Germany".
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Sauer
Müritz National Park
Woodlands, lakes and marshes shape the scenery in Müritz National Park in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. After repeated human intervention in this habitat, its flora and fauna are being a given a chance to recover. The cultivated pine forests are gradually being replaced with deciduous trees such as beech and birch.
Image: Scoopshot/Ulrich Kloes
The Elbe Riverscape
An alluvial forest is considered an important part of a riverscape. Regular flooding provides a unique habitat for flora and fauna, as it does here on the Elbe in the state of Brandenburg. The Elbe River Landscape has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1997.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
Harz Mountains
This low mountain range is not just one of the largest forested areas in Germany. It's also one of the most popular. As early as 1824, the writer Heinrich Heine devoted a travelogue to it. In the middle of the Harz is the Brocken, whose summit is many a hiker's destination. In addition, many animal and plant species live in these mixed forests, among them this endangered Brocken anemone.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
Hainich National Park
The largest contiguous deciduous mixed forest in Germany lies in the state of Thüringen, or Thuringia. Because of its native beech forests with up to 800 ancient trees, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 2011. It's home to many rare animal species, such as the European wildcat.
Image: DW/C. Hoffmann
Northern Upper Palatinate Forest
Here, too, some habitats, such as moist and marshy meadow valleys, woodlands and streams, are still almost in their original state. They lend the countryside a mystical quality. The ruins of Flossenbürg Castle are a landmark in the Northern Upper Palatinate Forest nature reserve.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Spessart
A range of low wooded mountains on the border between Hesse and Bavaria, the Spessart was once used as a hunting ground by aristocrats and archbishops. The 19th-century bands of brigands there are also legendary. Wilhelm Hauff immortalized them in his novella "The Inn in the Spessart" in 1827.
Image: picture-alliance/Thomas Muncke
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And that's not the only disadvantage of monocultures. Naumann says biodiversity is essential for self-regulating forests that don't need pesticides like glyphosate.
"The production of Christmas trees from plantations is not sustainable because native species are not planted that might play an important role for biotopes or weed control," Naumann said.
Wood for the trees
The Association of Christmas Tree Growers insists its members use few chemical herbicides since sheep eat most of the weeds on German plantations.
Meanwhile, due to the long production period of nine to 10 years, an ecosystem of sorts is created "for many living things and plants," the association's website claims.
While Christmas tree growers imply that glyphosate use is minimal, or that imported species can help fight climate change, Naumann insists that monoculture is not a sustainable forest model for the roughly 30 million trees cut annually.
"The production of Christmas trees is only sustainable if customers go back to spruces, silver firs and pines from native forests, because these trees are cut down as part of the near-natural forest management and are not taken from plantations," he said.
Of course, donating a tree to such a mixed forest will also help the cause this Christmas.
In search of a sustainable Christmas
Christmas and sustainability are not traditionally synonymous, but there's no reason why they can't be. Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling towards a big green day.
Image: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Bye-bye buy buy
Does Christmas really have to be synonymous with consuming in the name of a festive spirit? All that head-scratching to find the "perfect present" for the person who has everything? How about giving them nothing. Wrapped in... a smile? A shrug?
Image: picture-alliance/ZB/R. Hrischberger
Do-it-yourself
If the idea of such gift giving minimalism doesn't chime, there's always the DIY approach. Okay, so it takes a bit more effort to make something than it does to click your way through an online shopping excursion, but what rewards... Cheap, cheerful and oh-so-unique.
Image: DW/T. Walker
Wrapped to last
And if you do succumb to the lure of giving presents that won't wrap in either a smile or a shrug, you can still shun Christmas paper in favor of fabric. Chop up an old pillow case or sheet of shirt or whatever, and parcel your goodies up in that. Beautifully simple. Simply beautiful. Especially labels of old cardboard.
Image: DW/T. Walker
Chocolate or not?
Yes, yes, it tastes good. Most of it, at least. But chocolate is generally made with a generous dose of palm oil, grown on vast plantations that are responsible for ongoing deforestation in countries like Indonesia. The good news is, there are alternatives. An orange anyone?
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com/M. Debets
Lighting up the December power bill
As pretty as they are, those millions of little lights that scream "Christmas" don't power themselves. A simple string with 30 bulbs uses more electricity in six hours than an energy-efficient refigerator gets through in a whole day. What, no lights? No, we're not here to darken your party, just to gently suggest a switch to LEDs. Or candles...
Image: picture-alliance/chromorange
Naked flame of truth
....but not any old candle. That would be too easy. Because far from being an eco-friendly alternative to electric lights at Christmas, most are oil-based. So if you want you want to watch the gentle flicker of a green yellow flame while polishing your eco halo, the answer is beeswax.
Image: picture alliance/Arco Images/G. Lenz
Dressed for dinner
Christmas lunch. Giving up meat is widely regarded as one thing we could all do to help the climate and the environment. But this, the season of turkey, duck or goose served with trimmings, is unlikely to be time when die-hard carnivores decide to go veggie. Lucky for them, the New Year is just around the corner, dragging with it a clean slate for dietry resolutions.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Hase
Oh, Christmas tree
Ahh, the tree. The centerpiece that has long posed the fake vs. real question. Environmentally, neither are brilliant. Plastic ones leave an oil footprint, while their real counterparts are grown and harvested unsustainably. What to do? Not have one, make one, rent one or buy one in a pot. Choice paralysis. So many ways to ensure it is more than a single shade of green.
