As promised, this Christmas tree giveaway had a little something for everyone. There were big trees, little trees, really little trees and trees with thick needle coats. Others were a bit more bare, or had two tops… or none at all. Some were definitely an acquired taste and perhaps required a call home to check that they were OK. Or served as an exercise in humility, as modeled by Steffen and Julia: “It’d be lovely if it isn’t all stunted.”
In the end, everyone found a tree to love! Because it wasn’t (only) about looks, but about doing good. And yet there were also familiar scenes from any Christmas tree market: Couples engaging in heated debate as they check tree after tree from every angle, before finally finding their perfect tree that had been hiding behind all the others. The goal is always the same each year for visitors to the “Christmas tree area” at the Agroecology and Organic Farming Group (AOL): to find the best tree available that also fits your home.
But see for yourself in our video - we mingled with the crowd and asked “What makes for a perfect non-perfect Christmas tree?” We were also on hand when the trees were cut down one day earlier and learned why the spruce and pine trees needed to be felled, as well as why so many people volunteer to help. Believe it or not, it has (at least in part) to do with beavers.
Over 500 trees were given away this time. To employees, alumni, students and Bonn residents who love this event precisely because it is its own special thing—wonderful. The donations for 2025 also proved wonderful, with over 16,000 euros collected.
The organizing team extends its heartfelt thanks to all who took a tree and donated!
In the coming weeks, NaLa e. V. and the University of Bonn will be making the following donations, large and small:
The large donations are going to
- Natural conservation and environmental education programs in the Eifel
- Förderschule Schlesienstrasse Bonn
- Mozaic Verein Rumänien
- Tafel Troisdorf e. V.
The small donations are going to
- Gymnasium Metternich, Förderverein e. V.
- Stiftung für Ornithologie
- Pegasus e. V.
- Weltladen Bonn e. V.
- ZeSaBo e. V.
... Intranet of the University of Bonn:
https://confluence.team.uni-bonn.de/x/-a0D