Lake Co. Forest Preserves Seeks Donation Of Holiday Trees

LAKE COUNTY, IL — As many begin to take down their Christmas trees following the holiday season, the Lake County Forest Preserves is asking residents to drop their trees off at a local forest preserve instead of sending it to the landfill.

The donated Christmas trees will be recycled and used as wood chips for trails and landscaping at forest preserves sites in Lake County. All real and undecorated trees can be dropped off from 6:30 a.m. through sunset daily through Feb. 1, 2024, at the following locations:

• Grant Woods Forest Preserve, 25405 W. Monaville Road, Ingleside
• Greenbelt Forest Preserve, 1110 Green Bay Road, North Chicago
• Half Day Forest Preserve, 24255 Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills
• Heron Creek Forest Preserve, 22890 N. Old McHenry Road, Lake Zurich
• Lakewood Forest Preserve, 27277 Forest Preserve Road, Wauconda
• Old School Forest Preserve, 28285 St. Mary's Road, Mettawa
• Ryerson Conservation Area 21950 N. Riverwoods Road, Riverwoods
• Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve, 15838 W. Route 173, Wadsworth

No yard waste or commercial drop-offs are accepted.

The Lake County Forest Preserves has been accepting trees for recycling for at least 20 years, and most years more than 1,000 trees are donated.

The majority of the trees are mulched for use on trail but some are used to create "fish cribs." Fish cribs are made by staffers who tie several trees together and sink them with a cinderblock in larger lakes, particularly those that were formerly gravel quarries and lack substantial underwater vegetation.

These lakes benefit from the fish cribs, as they serve as crucial habitats for fish, according to news release.