York Christmas Trees have added some woolly workers to their award winning team at Wigginton – with five sheep!
The Shropshire sheep are the latest innovation designed to enable York Christmas Trees to maximise benefits for the soil and the environment, and will help deliver the most ecologically and sustainable Christmas tree growing system.
The sheep will eat the grass around the trees, and their manure is organic and very good for tree growth.
Oliver Combe, owner of York Christmas Trees, has been delighted with the impact the sheep have made.
“They are, effectively, four legged mowing machines,” said Oliver. “It means we do not have to use mowing machinery in the growing fields, and the team of sheep also produce organic fertiliser which is an added bonus.
“We are constantly looking for ways to ensure a complete ‘circle of life’ for our trees. That is why we also offer a recycling service that turns them into woodchip to which we add farmyard manure and special bacteria to accelerate the composting process. This is then used as a soil improver around the 20,000 young trees we plant each year.”
York Christmas Trees are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. “Amongst our many highlights was winning the competition to supply the Christmas tree for No. 10 Downing Street in 2020.”
They also won the British Christmas Tree Growers Association ( BCTGA) Innovation Award 2023 for inventing the ‘Doziroller’ – which helps Christmas tree growers create the best possible shape for a tree.
“This latest award is another boost for our team and we are determined to keep examining ways of ensuring we help the environment with our planting and growing,” said Oliver.
York Christmas Trees has also been taking part in ground-breaking new research in conjunction with the BCTGA, into the benefits of Christmas tree plantations for the environment. The latest results show the numbers and types of wildlife found in British Christmas tree plantations and highlights the importance they have as part of the countryside environment.
Declining native birds, including lapwing, skylark, linnets and redpolls, were found to benefit from shelter and food sources offered by Christmas tree plantations when they are placed in conjunction with native woodland, scrub, grasslands, and arable fields.
Oliver said: “This is a highly significant study which provides further evidence for why buying a local sustainably grown British Christmas tree is supporting nature and the environment. The environmental impact of deciding to celebrate your Christmas with a real tree is significant.
“A real tree spends around eight years growing in the field before it is harvested. So instead of being manufactured, a real tree converts CO2 into oxygen, provides a habitat for wild life, and keeps large tracts of open spaces green across the region. And unlike artificial alternatives, when you are done with a real tree, it is 100% recyclable and 100% biodegradable.”
York Christmas Trees opens on 23rd November and is open every day until Christmas Eve. Find out more at their website.