Did you know? We've had a Christmas Tree Recycling program in place for years. But since 2019, we've been especially proud to partner with the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge to use our recycled trees in wetland restoration efforts at Chicken Creek. Check out the video below to learn more about the environmental success story that's being written at this Tualatin River tributary with the help of trees from Cornell Farm.
Over 100 years ago, the wetlands of Chicken Creek were drained to support Western-style farming outside of Portland. Although the meandering stream was diverted into a fast-flowing bypass ditch for more than a century, land sculpting efforts to restore the waters of this Tualatin River tributary broke ground in 2019 with the goal of restoring these waters to their historical route and creating an ecologically functional wetland once more.
To help slow down the water in the restored creek bed, restoration workers at the Refuge sought out woody debris — like our recycled Christmas Trees! When added to the stream in the three years since, these trees have helped to further slow down the water, encouraging the deposition of nutrients and sediment, and creating habitat for a host of plants and wildlife to live and reproduce.
The successfully restored path of the creek now encourages the migration and spawning of fish like Upper Willamette River steelhead and cutthroat trout. And the floodplain provides food and shelter for the more than 200 species of birds that pass through the refuge in a given year.
We are very proud to have played a very small roll in this massive undertaking at the Refuge and are excited to continue working with the US Fish & Wildlife Service and their partners to restore our rivers and waterways well into the future.
The 280-acre Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge is open to the public year round with an interactive visitor center and more than four miles of walking trails. If you would like to recycle your tree purchased from us at the end of the holidays, visit the link here.
