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Christmas Tree Recycling at the Zoo is back!
Looking for something to do with your old Christmas tree? Whether you take it down straight after Christmas Day or like to leave it up to brighten your house as long as possible, the zoo can help recycle your tree! 
Noah’s Ark Zoo have been using recycled Christmas trees for animal enrichment and food for their animals for several years. However, in 2020 after a case of mistaken identity with a zoo with a similar name in the US, the campaign took off beyond all expectations.
 
This year, the zoo is inviting members of the public to drop off their Christmas trees in their drive through drop-off area in the car park between 2^nd and 24^th January.  Donated trees will be reused and recycled at the zoo, as enrichment for animals big and small. A wide range of animals have enjoyed the festive treats including African Elephants, Andean Bears, Lions, Red Deer, Chickens and more.
 
Larry Bush, Managing Director of Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm commented ““Last year was a phenomenal success with over 1000 Christmas trees donated to the zoo. Our animals loved the experiences - we planted a whole forest of trees for our African Elephants to explore, our Meerkats loved climbing through the branches of Christmas trees and our African Lions rolled around enjoying the scent of the pine needles and rolling around on the trees. We were able to chip any excess trees to use as mulch around our 100 acre site. This year we are hoping to go even bigger and as a green award-winning zoo we’re delighted to team up with North Somerset Council’s recycling team to raise awareness of the different ways you can recycle Christmas trees. With their help we aim to become a drop-off point for many locals who want their Christmas tree to go to good use.”
 
This year, the zoo aims to build on the success of last year and has partnered up with North Somerset Council to raise awareness of the recycling initiative to help reduce Christmas tree wastage.  Any excess Christmas trees which aren’t used for animal enrichment will be recycled by chipping the trees for use around the zoo in enclosures and as mulch for flower beds.
 
Cllr Bridget Petty, North Somerset Council’s executive member for environment and climate emergency, said: “This is a great initiative by the zoo to repurpose as many trees as they can manage for animal enrichment and then using the rest for mulch around the grounds. This is a wonderful option environmentally as it cuts down on the transportation required to recycle trees and the end product is used locally and has many purposes.”
 
This year, for the first time ever, the zoo will be open in between Christmas and New Year on the 28^th to the 31^st of December offering members and visitors a safe and fun environment to enjoy their animals and outdoor adventure play.
 
As an extra incentive, the zoo is running a special offer “bring a tree and get a free cup of tea” in Noah’s Ark Farm Shop located in the zoo car park.  This will run from 2^nd – 24^th January 2021.
 
ENDS