This year’s Pull a Pine event will be held over two days on RSPB Arne; Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd December, 10am to 3pm (last entry 2pm).
The family friendly event is one of the biggest conservation events in the country. Visitors have the opportunity to get their wellies on, dig out their hats and scarves and join in a wonderful festive day in nature to pick their own sustainable, home-grown Christmas tree – and to help save one of Dorset’s rarest habitats at the same time.
The Pull a Pine event features an entire suite of entertainment, including live music from Quinns Quinney on Saturday 2nd and Sixteen String Jack on Sunday 3rd. There will be refreshments, hot tasty food, and mulled cider. There will also be Christmas crafting activities and in the Arne Café Garden a Christmas Fayre, featuring stalls for locally-made artisans and festive gifts, plus carol singing.
Most important is the opportunity to do your bit for nature. Pine trees from commercial forestry plantations, which now dominate areas of Dorset’s heathland, spread quickly onto rare lowland heath. If left unchecked, they will out-compete important native heathland plants. Lesley Gorman, Visitor Lesley Gorman, operations manager at RSPB Arne, said: ‘Our visitors have a great day out and get to choose a lovely wonky Christmas tree with character.
And in return, it would take staff and volunteers weeks, if not months, to achieve what’s done in a single weekend at Pull-a-Pine.
‘Last year’s event saw more than 15,000 small pine trees removed over a weekend – a huge effort which allows this special place to maintain a healthy mix of landscapes and wildlife.’
- Pre-booking is essential here: bit.ly/PullaPine23
