Published on Dec. 9, 2025, 12:02 AM
University of Waterloo lab pushes for a more sustainable, environmental sector
Christmas trees farms across Ontario haven’t been spared by the devastating impacts of climate change, but a lab out of the University of Waterloo (UW) is pushing to curb the effects.
UW’s Christmas Tree Lab, founded in 2022, collaborates with Christmas tree farms across the province in their research to foster a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly industry in the face of climate change, while offering education and advocacy materials.
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The lab’s director, Kelsey Leonard, said yields at some of these farms are impacted by major climate events, everything from extreme heat and drought to what she describes as “erratic freeze-thaw cycles.”
The owners of Chickadee Christmas Trees in Puslinch, Ont., say some trees take 13 years to grow to the right height for selling. (James Chaarani/CBC)
“It kind of sounds strange, right? How can you have drought and flood and erratic freeze and thaw cycles, but because we just have such a biodiverse region from Windsor to Ottawa Valley, to up north and northern Ontario, we actually are in one growing season seeing all of these different types of events,” Leonard explains.
There are over 400 Christmas tree farms in Ontario, more than any other province in Canada, Leonard says. The trees they produce have much less of an impact on the environment than fake ones.