Care about our environment - Get Real!

JANKE TREE FARM IS A MAEAP APPROVED FARM (MICHIGAN AGRICULTURE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSURANCE PROGRAM) 

Want to give a lasting gift to the environment this Christmas?  Want to impact the environment in a positive way?  Do you want to forge a family tradition that will outlast your lifetime?  That's what we want too!   We have been a "growing tradition"  since 1988!  There isn't much that compares to spending the day in the outdoors with your family or friends picking out the perfect tree - warm your hands by the fire and  grab a hot chocolate while your tree is being taken to your car.   In other words, make a memory for your family while you' re doing something good for the environment at the same time.

Artificial Christmas trees are a petroleum product - that means they use up valuable resources without giving anything back to the environment  when they are made - in fact I would say the environmental impact is devastating!  The factory that makes them has taken "green" space that isn't growing anything anymore.  The product itself is not biodegradable and you know what that means when it eventually ends up in the landfill!  Not only that, but you have the same old tree to look at year after year.  It's time to GET REAL!

Our trees are "GREEN" for a number of reasons other than their color:

1.  During their approximately 10 to 12 year growth cycle they will provide a home for many local species of birds and other critters to raise their families in.

2.  An acre of christmas trees is a major producer of oxygen, and uses up tons of carbon dioxide in the process - making them good little air scrubbers while they are waiting to be harvested!

3.  Our trees are a crop, planted and grown to be cut down and replanted in a sustainable cycle - our small farm typically plants more new seedlings each year than we harvest. Young growing trees and crops are better oxygen producers than old trees which may in fact be decaying and actually releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

4.  Live trees can be recycled - When the tree has served it's Christmas purpose you have a choice:  Give it back to the land to enrich the soil or recycle it and make something unique out of it (fence, coatrack, furniture, endless items can be made from one or more trees.) Remember a young new tree takes it's place on the farm to start that cycle again.

4.  Agriculture has always been an important part of the Michigan economy.  Supporting American small businesses and farms that care about the environment is vital to keep America strong and growing.  We need your support to keep growing.  How are we helping our economy by buying artificial trees made in China?  (It is estimated tat over 85% of artificial trees are made in China)  The last I checked, China doesn't seem quite as concerned about the environment as we are.  Should our dollars be supporting that?

5.  Many farms offer potted trees that can be planted after the holidays.  This requires a bit extra "handling" and some special care tips but if you are willing to do this you can have a whole landscape full of Christmas memories  Ask about potted trees where you buy your real  Christmas Tree.

6.  The color and fragrance of a real tree cannot be duplicated by any artificial tree.  Even if artificial trees were good or the environment - which they are not in any way - they still cannot compete with the many gorgeous varieties of real trees.

7.  I've saved the worst for last.  It is estiimated that over 85% of the artificial trees come from China which is benefiting their economy of course but the worst news of all is that when we are sick of our artificial tree, or it breaks, etc.   whose landfill does it end up in?  Are you going to ship your tree back to China and let them dispose of it?  No...........it ends up in an American landfill where it will lay in an undecomposed state for almost as long as styrofoam - longer than you and I will be alive.   We can all  give the gift of a better world, a cleaner and healthier environment, to the next generation if we think a little "greener" at Christmas.  GO GREEN.....GET REAL!