PORT LUDLOW — It’s an annual event for the young boys of Cub Scout Pack 4480, who take the castaway symbol of the season — the Christmas tree — and return it to the woods, giving it new life in the ecosystem as part of a wild bird sanctuary.
The pack’s 12 Cub Scouts, who are from 6 to 10 years old, are scheduled to make their annual trip around Port Ludlow on Saturday morning, picking up old Christmas trees of all sizes at curbside, then taking them to a location off Teal Lake Road near state Highway 104 to pile up in an opening among the trees.
“We take the Christmas trees and stack them up and the birds make a home of them,” said Pack 4480 Cub Scout Daniel Paterson, a 9-year-old who attends Chimacum Elementary School.
His father, Craig Paterson, is organizing the tree pickup, which is done for donations of between $10 and $20, depending on the size of the tree.
“We will take whatever we get,” Craig Paterson said, adding that no donation was too small.
“Whatever they give us they give us. I don’t question it.”
He has been taking calls this week from Port Ludlow residents wishing to dispose of their trees and will take their orders through Friday, New Year’s Day.
Annual project
The project is part of the pack’s annual Good Turn for America project and raises money for the boys annual trip to Hurricane Ridge and other awards they receive for their work as Scouts.
It also disposes of the trees in an environmentally-friendly way that avoids the landfill or burning.
The Scouts will be accompanied by volunteer parents who drive trucks that haul the trees from Port Ludlow homes.
The property is owned by Dean Reynolds, the father of Lt. Lonnie Reynolds, an emergency medical technician at Port Ludlow Fire Department who is also the Pack’s den leader.
Since Scouts sell Christmas trees, it made sense to find an environmentally-friendly way of disposing of trees, organizers said.
“We tried it one year, and it’s gotten bigger each year,” Lonnie Reynolds said.
The 100th anniversary of Boy Scouts happens to coincide with the program in 2010, Reynolds and Paterson said.
Anyone who wants a tree picked up, can send a request to Cub Scout Pack 4480 in care of Craig Paterson, P.O. Box 206, Chimacum, WA 98325 with name, address and phone number (in case they get lost or have questions).
Questions can be directed to Craig Paterson at 360-732-0258.
Paterson will confirm requests by phone.
No flocked trees
On Saturday morning, the Cub Scouts will pick up trees, accepting all but trees that have been flocked. Flocked trees are not accepted for the bird sanctuary.
“We’ve been doing this for a few years now,” Craig Paterson said, adding that about 20 trees were collected last year in three trucks.
The Cub Scout pack is based in Port Hadlock and is sponsored by the Community United Methodist Church there.
“The kids jump out and get the trees,” said Craig Paterson, who has been organizing the tree pickup project for three years. “It’s pretty neat.”
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
