Nearly 9,000 Christmas trees collected from state forests this year

TALLINN - Nearly 9,000 spruce trees from state forests adorned Estonian homes during the Christmas holidays.

This is slightly more than in the past couple of years, when a little over 8,000 trees were purchased. The busiest period for collecting a tree was the week leading up to the holidays, during which nearly 3,000 trees were bought. Most people brought home trees between one and two meters tall, priced at eight euros.

On a few occasions, people inquired whether it would be permissible to take a pine instead of a spruce, and one person even wanted to bring home an oak tree for Christmas.

It is allowed to take other tree species as well, provided the same conditions are observed as when selecting a spruce -- the tree must be taken from a location where it would not have the opportunity to grow large. Such places include areas under power lines, on ditch banks, or in spots shaded by older forests.

The opportunity to personally select a Christmas tree from state forests has been offered by the state forest manager RMK since 2008. Every year, a mobile app and an online map are available to help tree collectors. The app provides the user's location and shows nearby areas where trees can be cut down.

Each year, RMK also donates Christmas trees to foster homes and partner organizations. This year, around 100 trees were gifted.