RMK once again invites you to bring take home your own tree from the forest 07.12

According to RMK Chief Forester Andres Sepp, one should not worry that taking a Christmas tree home from the forest will do harm to the forest, instead preferring a plastic tree that is harmful to the environment. ‘If a tree has been selected from the proper spot, then that tree would never have reached maturity anyway. It would have been cut during the cleaning of ditches or power lines, or left to waste away under an old forest. Offer these trees the opportunity to bring joy to us and those close to us during a peaceful Christmastime. Searching together for a Christmas tree is also an excellent opportunity to turn your cheeks red and feel joy from spending time together and the experience that the forest that belongs to all of us and is in good hands,’ said Sepp.

Bringing home a tree is made simple via the RMK homepage or mobile app, with the help of which it is easy to identify the location of the state forest, review instructions and pay for the tree. Specific instructions, a map of the state forest, and other important information can be found at the address www.rmk.ee/kuuseke.

Before heading out to the forest, you should review the map of the state forest on the RMK homepage or the mobile app and make it clear to yourself where the state forest is located. It is prohibited to remove trees from private land or protected areas. With the help of the RMK mobile app Smartphone users can be sure that they are in the state forest, where there are no nature conservation restrictions and where spruce can be cut.

When in the forest, one must definitely follow the rules for taking home a spruce. A Christmas tree can only be taken from a place where it does not stand a chance of growing to maturity – along the edge of roads and ditches, under overhead lines and the undergrowth of old forest. Spruce should definitely not be cut from a stand located in a reforestation area, where they have been planted by people. A stand located in a reforestation area can be recognised by the fact that the trees have been planted in an organised manner and are, for the most part, all the same height.

You can pay for the spruce via internet transfer or mobile payment; the tree must be paid for prior to being cut. The price of the tree depends on its height – a spruce of up to one metre in height costs EUR 3, a spruce of 1-2 metres in height costs EUR 8 and a 2-3 metre spruce costs EUR 13. A new opportunity is being offered this year, in which one will be able to independently take home 4 and 5 metre trees from the state forest, costing EUR 23 and EUR 30, respectively.

When heading out into the forest take along a saw or axe, and dress in weather-appropriate clothing. Before taking the spruce indoors, you should leave it in a cooler room for a period of time, for example, a corridor or garage, which will help the tree to last longer indoors. Additional instructions on how to handle spruces can be found on the RMK homepage.


Further information:
Andres Sepp
Chief Forester
andres.sepp@rmk.ee 
5055932