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Remember Wildlife When Decorating for Holidays
By
Carol
Spence
 LEXINGTON,
Ky., (Dec. 6, 2006) – It’s the time of year when temperatures
drop and winds rise. The change in season is a reminder to
spread some holiday cheer to the feathered and furred creatures
who share our landscape, but not our warm homes or our bountiful
cupboards.
Nature supplies a plethora of beautiful objects that can provide
both beauty for human eyes and sustenance for animals.
Decorating outdoor trees and shrubs with natural objects is a
good way to celebrate the season, said Rick Durham, University
of Kentucky Cooperative Extension associate professor in
consumer horticulture.
“It can be a creative family activity,” he said. “Use natural
products to make ornaments, then put them outside to see what
kind of wildlife they attract.”
At The Arboretum, a joint venture of the University of Kentucky
and Lexington Fayette Urban County Government, winners were
recently announced in the annual Environmental Tree
Extravaganza. The contest is intended to ”celebrate the holiday
season and the environment,” according to a placard that
introduced visitors to the display of trees on The Arboretum’s
grounds. Community groups decorated the evergreens, which were a
combination of live Arboretum trees and cut trees donated by
local nurseries and farms. Ornaments were created from
combinations of natural products from the landscape, simple food
from the kitchen and recyclable materials, such as cardboard and
paper ribbon.
 Mrs.
Sherman’s class at Sayre School in Lexington won in the
pre-kindergarten/ kindergarten category with a tree decorated
with oranges, and bagels and pine cones spread with peanut
butter and seeds. Red ribbons contributed a splash of color.
Katherine Maley and Friends’ tree was embellished with dried
fruit, cookies, apples, cranberries, cheerios and bagels. It won
in the middle and high school category.
The Mendez family used the long, graceful seed heads from millet
as bird-friendly ornaments. They also coated cardboard egg cups
with peanut butter and seeds and hung the branches with slices
of oranges and apples.
Close to Home, the winner in the “other” category, topped its
tree with an angel made from recycled cardboard. The angel’s
wings were covered with the soft white tufts of milkweed down.
Grand prize winners, Brownie Troop No. 823, used the dried
flower heads from ornamental grasses. Their wispy texture
contrasted with the heavier
evergreen needles of the tree. They also hollowed out oranges
and lemons, creating citrus baskets that they filled with bird
seed.
Though the trees all were unique, the one thing they had in
common was peanut butter.
“Peanut butter is a great glue to use,” said Durham, referring
to the spread’s ability to hold seeds, nuts and fruit pieces to
objects such as pine cones, bagels and tortillas. “Plus, it’s a
good source of protein for birds and other animals.”
“Another thing that I thought was interesting is that it looked
like they (some contestants) took some type of fat that they
could melt and then put a lot of bird seed in it and let it
harden,” he said. “It looks almost like a peanut brittle, except
that it’s got bird seed in it.”
According to Durham, sharing the season’s gifts with wildlife
can teach children about nature and the importance of using
recyclable materials. And you don’t have to live in the country
to reap the benefits. City families can attract a variety of
birds and animals to their yards, too.
“Birds and squirrels and chipmunks will all come (to city
yards),” Durham said. “In the country, carrots would attract
deer and rabbits, as well.” |
Contact: Rick Durham, 859-257-3249 |
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The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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