Once the holidays are over, it’s time to take the real tree out of the house before it turns into a fire hazard. While many municipalities have recycling programs in place, what happens if you miss the pickup? You can actually give the tree a “second life” and let it return to nature, according to Dan Kraus, the senior conservation biologist at the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

If you have a backyard, trim off the branches and place them on the ground where they will decompose into soil, leaving the trunk to provide a habitat for the woodland creatures.Hit up Pinterest for some home decor idea that you can create using the tree. Or drive it to the forest and leave there, says Marie-Paule Godin, operations manager at Tree Canada.

When do you take down your Christmas decorations? What do you do with the real tree after the holidays?