Christmas trees (mainly Picea pungens Engelm, Abies nordmanniana (Steven) Spach, Picea abies (L.) H.Karst and Picea omorika) are one of the most important material artifacts that are part of the Christmas holidays commonly celebrated in Poland. It is their traditional and inherent symbol of a religious nature and, at the same time, an aesthetic and national "must be". Looking at this element of tradition, we intend to come to the idea of ??recycling, reusing, and the postulate of presenting issues related to (in)tangible heritage in a more than human perspective. The context of our research is urban, in addition to visual documentation, we conduct unstrucured research among human species representatives - beings who keep their Christmas trees in their homes, gardens, on balconies (in some cases even a decade), beings who grow the so-called ecological trees and also foresters.
Post-life Christmas trees begins on the street, where they gain the status of post-plants, later they are burned in stoves and fireplaces, taken to compost, used for food for farm and zoo animals, transform into biomass. Globally, their afterlife is very diverse: they are used to strengthen coastal and oceanic dunes, to produce essential oils; they are used to create ephemeral, temporary forests in city parks, those in pots are being replanted. In the Internet media, we can find dozens of tips on the potential possibilities of using trees that are no longer needed. Cities, communes, districts develop programs for the utilization and processing of these objects and conduct a Christmas tree recycling policy. We want to take a look at these processes, to reflect on the practice of recycling - not only in relation to the present, but also to the tradition in which, as we believe and we will prove, it is inscribed.
