Environmental certification of Christmas trees in Oregon was started in 2007 by the Coalition of Environmentally Conscious Growers. This group of Oregon Christmas tree farms worked with an independent firm that audits farm sustainability, the Freer Consulting Company of Seattle, WA, to create a set of environmental standards and physically audit the farms for compliance.
The four Oregon Christmas tree farms that form the Coalition of Environmentally
Conscious Growers are Santa &
Sons Christmas Trees of Philomath, OR, Holiday
Christmas Tree Farms of Corvallis, OR, Yule
Tree Farms of Aurora, OR, and Silver
Mountain Christmas Trees of Sublimity, OR. These four Christmas tree growers
have committed to farming their land in an environmentally responsible way and
have made a sincere effort to have their farming methods judged for conformance
to standards of sustainability that will benefit the environment and help maintain
the economy of the rural communities where they are located by providing reliable,
local green jobs in sustainable agriculture.
The objective of the certification process is to ensure that Christmas tree growers are utilizing sustainable farming practices with regard to riparian / wetland management, positive soil and water conservation, proper nutrient management, applied integrated pest management, and good site selection to maintain biodiversity throughout the farm environment. Furthermore, Coalition members agree to undertake consumer outreach and education to promote public understanding of Christmas tree farming and awareness of its social, economic and environmental benefits. Read a comparative study of the environmental benefits of using real Christmas trees vs. artificial trees was published in 2009 by the Ellipsos Group of Montréal Canada.
For more information about the Coalition of Environmentally Conscious Growers contact Mark Rohlfs at Santa & Sons Christmas Trees
Active Coalition Members:
