Recycle your Christmas tree and help restore Talacre’s important sand dune habitat

Flintshire Countryside Service is asking people to recycle their Christmas trees this year which will help with the restoration of an important sand dune habitat.

The Rangers are asking for real Christmas trees over four feet tall, in one whole piece and without decorations, to be donated following the festive period.

Talacre’s sand dunes are vital to the ecological balance of the area and are home to a diverse selection of species including the rare NatterJack Toad and the rare Sand Lizards.

Sand lizards are an endangered UK species with a major decline in numbers over recent years due to habitat loss.

Work has been ongoing at Talacre to restore habits, captive breeding and reintroduction programme is now helping the lizards to make a comeback.

Where to take your trees.

Residents can take their trees to Wepre Park in Connah’s Quay, where an area will be designated in the main car park or the car parking area near Dangerpoint activity centre, Station road, Talacre, between Wednesday 4 and Thursday 12 January 2016.

Tim Johnson, Talacre Partnership Ranger said:

“Last year’s efforts were fantastic, we worked with local students and got a huge amount of work done. This year we will be doing it all over again with a new group of students and adding to the existing works.”

Councillor Bernie Attridge, Cabinet Member for the Environment said:

“This is a really good way of recycling leftover Christmas trees. Using your old trees in this way will help to conserve our natural environment and improve flood defences. I’m encouraging everyone to support the scheme again as they have done so well in the past.

“Over the last 18 years, Flintshire Countryside Service and its partners have stabilised the dunes by wind trapping sand and installing fences to minimise damage to the sensitive fore dunes. Beach nourishment schemes by Flintshire County Council engineers brought dredged sand to the beach further building up the fore dunes as a credible sea defence.”