Christmas tree event cancelled over staff shortage

An annual conservation event that encourages people to pick their own Christmas tree has been cancelled due to "staffing issues".

RSPB confirmed that this year, there would not be a Pull A Pine weekend at the Arne nature reserve in Purbeck, Dorset.

The event has drawn thousands of visitors in previous years, with about 2,500 people attending its 2016 edition.

A spokesperson for RSPB Arne said the reasons were "purely due to staffing".

Pull A Pine invites volunteers to remove the invasive trees that take over the heathland, a semi-natural habitat.

The idea behind the event is to help save the home of rare species, raise money for conservation work, educate the public about what goes into maintaining the heathland and provide visitors with the chance to get a hand-picked, sustainably sourced Christmas tree.

RSBP previously said that had "vastly improved" the habitat for species such as nightjars and grayling butterfly.

Statistics published by the society show that 1651 people attended the two-day event in 2022 and "upwards of 13,000 invasive Scots pine trees removed from Hyde’s heath".

The RSPB spokesperson said that there was a shortage of staff to be able to manage it this year and added they hoped it would be back in 2025.

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