Now that Christmas is over, people might be looking for something to do with live Christmas trees. While having them disposed by sanitation workers is an option, those who own ponds can take a different route. Lake Darling Fisheries Biologist Chad Dolan says old Christmas trees can be added to ponds to create a fish habitat. Dolan says people can take live trees out onto the ice, weigh it down with something like a bucket of concrete, and leave it there. Once the ice thaws, the tree will sink to the bottom of the pond and create a good habitat for fish.

As far as where to put the tree in the pond, Dolan recommends, “Best placement of that sort of habitat would be in water six or eight feet deep, keeping in mind that you would probably want the material to sink so that it’s at least three to four feet underwater. And we usually don’t like to see people drop habitat in 20 feet of water, because during most parts of the year that will really be inaccessible to fish.” According to Dolan, a Christmas tree placed in a pond in this manner will last for approximately two years before it breaks down, so people can feel free to add trees every year with little worry they will overrun the pond.