Mulchfest
Encourage people in your community to bring their used Christmas trees to a designated location after the holidays so that they can be converted to mulch.
The majority of used Christmas trees are hauled off to landfills where they become part of America’s giant waste management and carbon emissions problems. But there’s an easy, and more environmentally friendly, alternative: Mulchfest! Towns all across America run Mulchfests, often using the mulch created to maintain public green spaces.. Why not start one in yours?
How do I get started?
First, download our helpful PDF for Done in a Day Projects for step by step instructions on how to launch a one day event
Do some research on the environmental impact of discarded Christmas trees
Figure out what happens to the used Christmas trees in your community. Are they mulched by your municipality? If so: great! If not, what are the more eco-friendly alternatives?
Approach your department of sanitation, or whoever is responsible for collecting discarded trees curbside and propose the Mulchfest
Scout an appropriate location
Solicit volunteers
Advertise the Mulchfest, including the window of time during which people can bring their used trees to your designated location
Line up volunteers
Rent a mulcher. This is a piece of serious heavy equipment, so rental companies typically send someone to operate the mulcher so that you don’t have to do it
Figure out to do with the used mulch
Mulchfest might be short - a week or so - but it has the potentially to reduce your community’s environmental impact. This has the benefits of reducing your carbon footprint, recycling organic material and reducing the overall cost of local beautification and maintenance. So help your town go GREEN!
How long will this take? Even though the main event is completed in a single day, this project will require several days for planning, plus several days for execution and clean up.
How do I expand this narrative arc? If environment is your narrative arc, consider building on this interest with one of the following:
Participate in a quick citizen science project that revolves around the environment or sustainability like The Big Microplastic Survey
Physically build and deploy satellite-tracked Student Drifters that track ocean currents and validate ocean models.
Apply for a grant from the Captain Planet Foundation for your own ocean related project.
HOT TIP: Done properly, this is an excellent and potentially high profile community project that, as a bonus, can have a positive environmental impact. It will be even more valuable to you if you can link it with something else academic or extracurricular, like a local tree planting or community beautification campaign.