Then take the tan paper, wad it a bit for texture, and attach it to the cardboard using glue. Wadding it up a bit is what gives the texture, making it look more like wood.

The Stage Zero approach – lessons from North America on restoring river, wetland and floodplain habitats Fold each tree in half. Create two slits in each tree on the fold, one high and one low on the tree. The slits should be less than half the depth of your cardboard circles (ours are 1.5″).I alternated between shimmering silver paint and brown paint to create a layered finish on the corrugated scrapbook paper. In an ideal world we'd dispense with tree guards entirely. We have other options available to us, including fencing against deer, humane culling or innovative planting methods that lead more trees to survive. But those options can be logistically difficult or expensive, so tree tubes will still have a role in our work. The Bio-Earth Biodegradable Plastic Free Tree Shelter Guard has been developed by Green-tech over the last 2 years in light of the growing demand in the landscaping and forestry industry to reduce the use of plastic tree shelter tubes as protection during tree planting.

In the forthcoming Winter 2021 issue of Conservation Land Management ( CLM) magazine Jenny Price and Lyndsay Wayman-Rook describe how the Old Chalk New Downs project in Kent has been trialling biodegradable cardboard tree guards as an alternative to plastic. Here you can read a summary of the article.

Our tree planting dilemma

I missed it terribly. It just felt like something was missing the entire year. I loved entering the room each morning being greeted by that tree! If you’re using a saw, it’s really easy to layer 3 pieces of cardboard and cut them all out at the same time. If you’re using scissors or a box cutter, just cut out three trees by hand. I made three separate trees out of the supplies listed, so I’m going to walk you through them one at a time. Insert the circles into the slits of one of the folded trees and open the tree enough to stand. Add the other two trees onto the circles.

While I loved that we were getting a fresh coat of paint, I was very sad to take down the tree that hung so nicely in our reading area. Once the tree is established enough to no longer need the Earthboard Biodegradable Tree Guard, they can either be recycled in any paper or card recycling system, composted or left to safely biodegrade into the ground where the tree or hedge has been planted. Once the paint is dry, bring out your buttons (or pom poms or whatever craft materials that you have available).This is probably the easiest DIY Christmas tree craft on this list! All you need is a cardboard box, some scissors, and some tape. Simply cut out a tree shape from your cardboard box, and then decorate it however you like! You could even use old Christmas cards to make your own unique decorations. The main purpose of a tree guard is to protect newly planted trees from browsing, but they also provide other benefits; they create a more favourable microclimate that helps to promote the growth of young trees and protect the plants from wind, competing vegetation, herbicides and water loss. Wooden and wire tree guards have been in use since the 1820s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that plastic versions were first used. As a cheaper material compared to alternatives, plastic is now widely used for guards in planting schemes. Initially, my plans were to paint these trees bright, festive colors. But when they came together in this natural kraft cardboard color, I loved them just as they were! So with your trees, dress them up any way you like!