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WIRRAL HOSPICE ST JOHN ’ S CHRISTMAS TREE COLLECTION
From Friday 15th January , 2021 , and for a busy few days afterwards , a small army of Wirral Hospice St John ’ s volunteers , eager to work off their festive feasting , will be buzzing all around Wirral picking up used REAL Christmas trees from outside people ’ s homes and businesses .
Now in its eighth year , the Christmas tree collection campaign is raising more and more essential funds for the hospice . For a suggested donation relating to the size of each tree , £ 7 under 5ft , £ 8 under 6ft , £ 10 under 7ft , £ 15 over 7ft , people can leave their pine / fir / spruce tree in an accessible spot outside their house or business and , within the week , their tree will magically disappear . Thirty large vans , many of which have been lent to the hospice , are sent everywhere around Wirral . One person will take the wheel and navigate a pre-planned postcode route , while one crew member , ( or two if the whole team are in a ‘ bubble ’) will pick up the tree from each address and load it onto the back of the van .
January 2021 is going to be slightly different as the volunteers won ’ t be able to gather in a large group to receive their instructions but will rather be sent off in their safe ‘ bubbles ’, timed and spaced to mitigate any risk of coronavirus transmission .
With more than 9 days after twelfth night before collection , the trees will be COVID safe to whisk away . All volunteers will have gloves , a liberal supply of hand sanitiser and masks ready if they need to converse with a homeowner from 2 metres and outdoors of course .
Once each van is fully loaded it ’ s driven to various pre-arranged temporary ‘ drop-sites ’ around Wirral to offload for chipping , then it ’ s back on the road heading out for the next load . The chipped trees have further recycled uses , maybe in biofuel or even spread around at community farms and paddocks . Other small local
charities also receive around ten per cent of the monies raised . All the people who give their valuable time are well fed and watered while fuel costs are offered to everyone who volunteers the use of their van ( s ).
Every Wirral postcode area is eligible to register and people can book from now until 5pm on Sunday 10th January , to secure the hassle-free collection of their REAL Christmas trees .
Elaine Connell , Wirral Hospice St John ’ s fundraising officer , says : “ People from all over Wirral really get behind our Christmas tree collection campaign . We know it ’ s a lot of fun for our hardy volunteers who come back year after year . We ’ re extremely grateful to everyone who supports Wirral Hospice St John ’ s , including all those who give up their valuable time and the use of their vehicles to help with the collections and , of course , all those people who make their generous donations for us to pick up their used real Christmas trees .
We ’ re also very grateful to those organisations who lend a hand , equipment or space including , B & M , Firtree Landscapes , Willaston Community Farm , Ness Village Hall , BVH , Don ’ t be Stumped , HJA Fencing & Landscaping , S2S Gardening Services , Carsons Tree Services , Hoist UK Ltd , Allan Morris Transport , Continental Landscapes , Karl D Williams , Claremont Farm , Oldershaw Rugby Club , West Wallasey Van Hire , Aaron Garden Services , Wirral Lions , West Kirby Football Club , Mid-Wirral Rotary , NARPO , A Douglas Garden Solutions , ECO Grounds Maintenance and Mersey Removals .”
For all details please contact : treecollection @ wirralhospice . org Or , to register your tree for collection go online to www . wirralhospice . org / treecollection or call 0151 343 0778 .
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