A spokesperson for the Nature Conservancy of Canada is encouraging you to give your Christmas tree a second life.

“One suggestion is to just chuck it into the backyard because the birds can use it,” offers Andrew Holland. “Birds need a warm habitat in the winter months because many of them don’t migrate to the Carolinas or South America.”

It is already a tradition for many families to pick the perfect Christmas tree and decorate it together. So, Holland asks, why not extend the process?

Holland says decorating the retired tree with nuts, birdseed, and pine cones slathered in peanut butter can actually be quite beneficial.

“It can become an important food source for birds over the coming weeks.”

According to Holland, 2.9 billion Canadian birds have died in the past 50 years due to climate change, habitat loss, and the occasional prowling cat.

Dozens of native bird species have struggling populations and dwindling natural habitats “so anything we can do at a local level to support bird populations can help make a difference,” he says.

Creating a little Christmas tree hotel for the nearby chickadees may not seem like a whole lot, but Holland says caring for the environment, even in the smallest of ways, is always a good thing.