At
Wells Hill farm in Weston, leftover Christmas trees are the main course – a
treat for goats and sheep that live there.
Farm
owner Michelle Fracasso says there isn’t much pasture or fresh forage during
the winter and calls the Christmas trees a “tasty alternative.”
She says the trees are a shakeup to their diet that is good for their digestion and loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants.
Wells
Hill started taking in trees from the community to recycle them a few years ago and
saw a larger influx due to the pandemic.
“The
Weston Warmup Fund usually holds an annual bonfire in Weston right after the
season and they were unable with COVID to do that this year, so we found a
lovely solution to all those Christmas trees,” she says.
Fracasso
says there are 30 trees on the farm so far, with many more to come. When the
goats and sheep are done eating, what's left of the trees is recycled in the
woods.
The
farm doesn't take any Christmas trees with tinsel, decorations or fire
retardant.