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The 2011 All-Natural Christmas Trees for Sale
$30
The Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club is selling beautiful, all-natural Christmas Trees from its farm on Airport Road, near Mono Mills.
These trees, Scotch Pines up to 9 feet tall, have been planted and tended by volunteers from the Caledon Hills Club. They have never been sprayed with any form of pesticide, and no chemical fertilizers have been applied.
Trees will be available on a “cut your own” basis at $30 per tree, regardless of size. All proceeds will go toward the Bruce Trail’s program to secure, protect and maintain a continuous conservation corridor containing the Trail, along the Niagara Escarpment.
We will also have a selection of other natural decorating materials, such as white pine and cedar boughs, grape vine wreaths, and red osier twigs, all at bargain prices.
Where: Hockleycrest farm, No. 933445 on the east side of Airport Road (Dufferin County Rd. #18), 4.4 km north of Hwy. 9 at Mono Mills
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday in December while supplies last.
Come and warm your hands by the bonfire while you sip on some warm apple cider – our thank you for your support.
For further information, call Dave Moule:
416-225-2069 Weekdays
519-940-9258 Weekends
Or e-mail salydave@sympatico.ca
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CHTBC member Katherine Hartel and her family enjoyed selecting their Christmas tree at Hockleycrest last December. She sent these pictures with a note, “Here are the photos from our wonderful day at the Christmas tree farm. We loved the day, your service, and the tree which we enjoyed in our home!” Joan Richard
March 20, 2011 |
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SANTA'S ELVES AT WORK This past December, a group of Santa's elves worked together to prepare for the holiday season. In addition to their usual chores, they were selling Christmas Trees at Hockleycrest Farm to benefit the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club. Hockleycrest is the farm of Dave Moule and Sally Cohen, long-time Bruce Trail volunteers. In 1993 they bought their property on the southeastern edge of the Hockley Valley . Soon afterwards, as Dave says, “each year in December I saw hundreds of cars heading south on Airport Road with Christmas tress on their roof, coming from tree farms to the north.” Dave pitched the idea of a tree farm to the Caledon Hills executive in 1996; the arrangement was that the club could use their land to plant, maintain and sell the trees. Monies generated would be donated by the club to the Bruce Trail , specifically to contribute to the Land Acquisition program. In the spring 1996 Caledon Comment, president Jeanette Cave reported these plans: “This is a long-term project as the first trees will be available for sale in 7 or 8 years. The more volunteers we have, the less work for everyone and the more fun we have.” For the first four years about 300 trees were planted annually. Then in about 2001, the volunteers planted another 200, this time Fraser Fir, which the nursery catalogue described as “highly desirable as a Christmas Tree.” By this time, a lot of customers wanted a spruce or fir tree rather than the Scots Pine that were the first plantings. But when Dave spoke to a veteran tree farm operator from the area, the response was “Oh, don't plant them things! They won't grow around here!” He was right; after two years, there were only two trees left alive out of the 200 originals. The original trees had matured enough by 2003 that sales could begin. Around 2005 things started to pick up as many of the trees were close to ten years old; the project suddenly looked like a winner. Dave remembers that “we started to get club volunteers to come out to help sell the trees, and we also supplemented our product line with white pine boughs, grape vine wreaths, and other décor items.” With sales of about 100 trees a year, the inventory was declining and in 2007 additional planting began with approximately 700 trees over the next three years; these included white spruce and balsam fir. In the summer of 2010 they were pruned for the first time, but it will be several more years before they are ready to sell. “We have to be patient”, Dave says. |
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Where volunteers can help is with planting, usually early in April, and pruning in June, sometimes in conjunction with a Summer Solstice party. This step is necessary to achieve a dense compact form and nice shape. As the Caledon Comment advertised, “The work is not hard, and gives you a chance to practise your artistic and horticultural skills, as you try to create the perfect Christmas tree.” Then for about three weekends in December, volunteers are necessary as a sales force at Hockleycrest.
Over the past decade, the Caledon Hills Club has benefitted tremendously from this project. Dave and Sally must be thanked for allowing us to “borrow” their land. In addition to being a good steady revenue generator, it has provided for social interaction among our members, and has enabled us to do some outreach about the club and the Bruce Trail to our customers. We now have a number of “regular” customers who come every year because they want to support the Trail. Watch upcoming issues of the Caledon Comment and the website for news about dates for planting, trimming or the sales team. Consider giving a little of your time, both to have some fun and to help with the fund-raising that is necessary if we are to achieve all our dreams for the Trail. Another Fundraising Success! Thanks to the dedicated efforts of about thirty volunteer pruners and sellers, the club raised $2400 for the Bruce Trail during the 2010 Christmas Tree Sales. Thank you to everyone who generously offered their time to make this annual fundraiser a success again! Jean Kerins, Club President
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