Christmas trees with roots accepted by Bûûmplanters this weekend

Bûûmplanters is once again asking residents of Brussels to donate their Christmas trees for replanting. The organisation is accepting trees at its location on Rue Navez in Schaerbeek on Saturday.

Bûûmplanters is a non-profit that provides trees to residents to plant on their own properties and also accepts donations of trees and shrubbery to replant. Anyone bringing them a Christmas tree this Saturday will get a small fruit tree or fruit shrub in return.

Donations of trees are open to residents of Brussels-City, Schaerbeek, Molenbeek, Jette and Saint-Josse. The trees must have roots and be planted in a bucket of earth. If the tree survives, residents have the option of picking it up next year to be used again as their Christmas tree.

Lessons learned

The organisation launched the Christmas tree drive last year and have learned a few lessons since. “We accepted 30 trees last year that we replanted,” Yoeri Bellemans of Bûûmplanters told VRT. “We watched them die one by one.”

The team recently contacted everyone who donated last year to tell them to keep the roots of the tree damp while it is indoors. “The problem is that the roots dry out, and then the tree eventually dies,” explains Bellemans. They expect that regular watering will keep the roots alive long enough to be replanted.

Bellemans asks that only residents of the aforementioned municipalities bring trees this weekend. They can only handle so many donations, and it is hoped that the amount of CO2 expended to deliver the trees can be compensated for by replanting them.

Photo: Christmas trees will be planted on the Bûûmplanters lot in Schaerbeek
©Courtesy Bûûmplanters/Facebook