Instead of dragging their browning Christmas tree to the transfer station, Georgetown Island residents can put them to work repairing dunes at Reid State Park.
Fierce coastal storms almost a year ago battered the park beaches. Friends of Reid State Park hope arranging discarded trees will catch sand and help rebuild lost dunes.
It’s a technique that’s had some success at Popham Beach, said the group’s president James Peavey.
"Nature has a way of refurbishing itself," Peavey said. "But we want to help that and hopefully over time get some of that built back to protect what’s behind it."
Trees will be placed to rebuild dunes on either end of Mile Beach Peavey said. The area is important nesting habitat for least terns, a seabird that is endangered in Maine, he added.
"Probably 50 feet of the dunes was eaten away, so one of our goals is to start that restoration," Peavey said.
Tree donations will be accepted at the park from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday. Peavey hopes to get most trees from nearby Georgetown and Arrowsic to avoid the overwhelming amount Popham Beach officials received when they put out a similar call for donations last year.
