RMK Christmas tree hunt is on
The State Forest Management Center (RMK) is once again inviting people to go out into the woods and harvest a Christmas tree from a state forest on their own.
A record 8,700 trees were harvested during last year's Christmas holidays.
The trees cost between 3 and 13 euros, depending on the height. A tree can be paid for online or by mobile phone. A payment must be completed before harvesting the tree.
RMK specialist Toomas Väät said that every year more and more people seize the opportunity to find their perfect tree in the wild. "Finding a suitable Christmas tree provides a good reason to go to the forest in the winter and the little tree that this expedition yields helps to create Christmas spirit."
People who wish to harvest a tree should first locate a suitable stretch of stateforest, using the map on RMK's dedicated website or by downloading the RMK mobile app.
A set of rules also apply: "A tree can only be harvested from a place where it doesn't stand a chance of growing up - on the side of the roads and ditches, under electric lines and old forest," Väär said.
"A tree cannot be harvested from areas where the trees have been planted by people and are growing into commercial timber. These areas can be recognized from their regular planting patterns, and the fact that the trees are well groomed and usually of the same size," he added.