Town collecting Christmas trees to rebuild dunes

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) —  The Town of Carolina Beach is collecting Christmas trees now through the month of January.

All the trees collected will go on to preserve the dunes within the community.

The town will be picking up your trees every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through the end of the month curbside, then reusing them to build up dunes.

“The trees work a lot like sand fences, so once the trees are in place and the sand will cover them up very quickly and build that area up,” Assistant Town Manager Ed Parvin said.

The dunes are a habitat for sea turtles and nesting birds, but also serve as natural storm buffer zones.

Parvin says the town is teaming up with the Surfrider Foundation Cape Fear Chapter to get the project done.

He says they have done this for quite a few years and have had great success.

“We work with them to get all the permits through the state, through CAMA, to make sure we put them in the way the state wants them back in there so they will do the best benefit to our dunes system,” Parvin said.

Parvin adds there are several spots that have seen moderate beach erosion so this project will help that.

“We have had a lot of dune wash out especially on Freeman Park on the north end so we are looking at putting quite a few up there to help build those dunes back. So with the trees in place and beach nourishment occurring over the next few months in the Spring we are hoping to get a nice beach and a nice dune system for the summer season,” Parvin said.

With the help of many volunteers, the Town and the Surfrider Foundation Cape Fear Chapter plan to recycle the trees and place them in the dunes on January 30th.

Parvin says if you have a tree that needs to be picked up, please remove all decorations and place the tree at the edge of the road in front of your home. He also adds there you do not need to call in for a Christmas tree pickup, as the Town will be regularly picking up trees.