As the winter passes into spring, your Christmas tree may even become a nesting site for birds that are year-round residents. Squirrels and chipmunks often find shelter under the lower branches of Christmas trees too. Your discarded tree can be useful far beyond the holiday season. This stack of cut trees provides a temporary winter escape shelter for our native cottontail rabbits. Few wild species adapt better than rabbits, and few can thrive as close to developed areas as the cottontail.
Many communities are fond of wildlife habitat areas or nature trails.
By adding a rabbitat one can complement the theme of wildlife management in the community. Since nearly all neighborhoods have rabbits, organizing a gathering of the greens to construct a rabbitat from a pile of discarded Christmas trees on a vacant lot, common area or in your own yard will help the rabbits through the winter. However, do keep in mind that rabbits like to eat ornamental flowers, such as pansies, and many of our garden vegetables. To make a rabbitat, stack discarded Christmas trees over an old roll of fence wire or old crisscrossed logs. Continue stacking trees until the pile reaches five to six feet in height and a width of 15 to 20 feet.