Our Organic Journey

We are passionate about natural living,
ecology and well-being.

However, becoming the first people in the UK to sell organic trees hasn’t been easy.
When we first expressed our desire to grow organically, we were told we were crazy and to give up!
But we didn’t listen. We kept persevering, doing our best whilst speaking to experts in other fields until finally, in November 2018, we met Lars and Marianne from Fair Trees in Denmark.
We flew out to meet them - and we were in tree heaven! Not only did they introduce the organic and fair trade movement in Denmark, but Denmark is the strictest country in the world for organic standards.
They guided us about the best growing methods, and helped us open an exciting new chapter.

In November 2018, we planted our first 850 fair-trade organic seedlings and have started the process to get our whole nursery certified organic, having stopped even the small chemical use we had 5 years ago when Alan retired. In the meantime, we personally select the 150 of the finest organic fair-trade trees to come to the UK to make up the stop gap. These are being cut as late in the season as possible - only available from the 28th November - to keep them fresh.

What do we mean by sustainability?

For us it’s about creating a thriving, harmonious environment which supports diversity and the
long-term vitality of the planet. The great benefit of growing Christmas Trees is that they are a very stable and long-term crop, typically staying for over 10 years before being cut.

This means that wildlife is able to establish, rather than other farm crops which are cut annually.
This allows for a vibrant and diverse ecosystem for a huge number of plants, insects, birds and animals.
Trees also stabilise the soil.

Just like we need good diversity of bacteria in our gut to be healthy, a nursery also needs a natural balance. Chemicals don’t discriminate, wiping out natural biodiversity including ladybirds, wasps and, crucially, bees. Ironically, these act as natural predators to the aphids which attack the trees,
making our trees more vulnerable.

At Magic of Foresters, we typically plant two organic trees for every tree we sell. We also only sell a maximum of 10% of our trees each year to ensure the ongoing success of the trees. Furthermore, by purchasing organically we also guarantee the sustainability of the natural forests in Georgia.

In our equipment we try to minimise the use of loud and polluting power tools. We use a lot of hand tools, such as secateurs, shears, sickles, billhooks and hand saws. Where needed we use electric tools
such as electric chain saws and mowers.

Finally, we do our best to make our business a ‘closed loop’ system – we chip any excess trees, using these as mulch for round our younger saplings. These help keep down the weeds and keep in moisture.

After Christmas, we also donate trees to zoos and wildlife centres such as The Eagle Heights Foundation and Godstone Farm.

At Magic of Foresters, we additionally put aside numerous wild areas, untouched by us, creating even more of a safe haven for nature to thrive. We have an abundance of hedgerows to support this further. We even have the River Ravensbourne, which later joins the Thames, flowing through our little nursery.

What’s the environmental impact of real Christmas Trees vs fake trees?

At Magic of Foresters we do everything we can to make our farm and trees as earth positive as possible – from being organic to recycling our trees. We use bio-degradable netting for trees where possible.

Trees have such a multitude of great benefits, that it’s often hard to quantify – from releasing phytoncides that actually improve our immune system, to helping with water management and reducing rain runoff. They are often grown in poor soils that struggle to support other crops.

While we totally understand the simple and easy appeal of fake trees, at present this sadly comes at a pretty high cost. In short, real trees support nature, take in carbon, purify the air and don’t use high energy and polluting chemicals in their production.

Most fake trees, by contrast, are made of plastic and metal materials, and shipped from China.
It is generally accepted that fake trees will need to be used for at least 10 years to become just
carbon neutral (the average ownership is 6-9 years).

In addition, we are starting to realise the huge problems that plastics are causing the world,
from polluting our seas to entering our food chain. Micro-plastics now being found is previously
remote and pristine areas of the world from the Mariana Trench to the Arctic.
Sadly fake trees, at present, have the potential to keep adding to this problem for many years to come.

Our own trees are free from ‘tree miles’, only travelling the short distance from our nursery to the
sales yard - no more than 200 yards. To preserve the nursery, we only make around 10% of our trees available for sale each year. 

And, for every tree we cut, we typically plant two new baby seedlings in its place. Our trees can also be safely recycled – we recommend chipping or composting your tree where possible.

What makes a Magic of Foresters tree so special?

Our trees are completely natural, fresh, healthy and beautiful. No two are the same - they each have their own distinct character and have been shaped by our passionate pruners! With our wide range
of trees, and our experts close to hand, you'll always be able to find your perfect tree.

By visiting us you get to see them in their natural setting and understand more about how they help us thrive as human beings, We love giving tours of the farm so that you can have the most magical and educational experience possible. Julian regularly does ‘sensory tours’ where you touch, smell, see
and even taste the different trees we have here at Magic of Foresters.

Fair trade

At Magic of Foresters, it’s not just trees we believe in, but people too.  

Most of the popular Christmas trees, Norman Fir, are sourced from seeds in Georgia.
However, sadly this often involves unsafe working conditions, with children working in unsafe conditions - climbing high trees to find the cones. Fair Trees, a Danish company, guarantees that all cones are gathered safely by adults with the proper safety equipment and educated cone pickers. They also guarantee all workers are paid a fair wage, and take care to provide the pickers and their families
with health insurance.

At Magic of Foresters, we further commit to paying everyone who works with us the UK fair wage, which is well above both the minimum wage and living wage.