The Swedes always have the best ideas - a different take on chistree recycling

Sunk Christmas trees to replace missing vegetation serve as spawning grounds and maintain the fish population - a pippiesque idea in our opinion.

On January 13th, the Christmas season ends in Scandinavia and the people part with a heavy heart from their beloved roommates - this is not really an exaggeration, because the relationship between the Swedes and their Christmas trees is indeed intimate. Totally understandable for me.

In Stockholm, there is therefore an opportunity to use the discarded Christmas tree for a great cause - to stop the extinction of species.

How does it work?

We know of elephants that love to eat unsold Christmas trees at Berlin Zoo, but fish in Sweden?

The Swedish sport fishing association Sportsfiskarna gives pesticide- and tinsel-free Christmas trees a second life in the icy waters off the former Stockholm industrial area of Hammarby Sjöstad.

With stones instead of Christmas tree baubles, they are thrown into the water from a ship to become a habitat for the marine fauna there.

Fir trees to replace underwater vegetation

Project manager of Sportsfiskana, Malin Kjellin, explains that there has been a lot of construction in the district in recent years, which has led to a massive increase in boat traffic.

"The vegetation that was used for the fish to spawn has virtually disappeared - and this is a good opportunity to replace it naturally."

Over a thousand Christmas trees have been sunk in the icy water since 2016 (start of the project).

Underwater videos prove how well suited they are as places where fish can lay their roe and young fish can hide from their enemies.

"It's working," says environmentalist Yvonne Blomback from WWF. "These fish are very important because they are part of a food chain that prevents an increase in algae in the Baltic Sea".