This weekend, let a goat eat your Christmas tree

You don’t want your Christmas tree anymore. And these goats really do.

The Philly Goat Project, based at Awbury Arboretum in East Germantown, is hosting its fifth annual tree recycling festival this Saturday, granting you the opportunity to donate your past-prime tree to 13 extremely enthusiastic goats. Alongside recycling, there will be farm olympics for small children, hot chocolate and s’mores, a fire pit, and a petting area for goats taking a break.

The goats, according to their handlers, are thrilled. They need to eat greens to maintain their gut health, said Leslie Jackson, volunteer coordinator at the Philly Goat Project, but there are few tasty options in the winter. Christmas trees supplement their hay diet, provide vitamin C, and freshen their breath, thus making the festival both a highly Instagram-able and also virtuous experience.

With their four-chambered stomachs and two sets of teeth, goats are basically far superior to humans, said Karen Krivit, a social worker and founder of the Philly Goat Project.

“I wouldn’t try eating a Christmas tree at home if you’re a human,” said Krivit. But when the goats got their first taste, “they were just like, ‘what is this? Great stuff. Give me more.’”

A mix of Nigerian dwarf and Nubian breeds, the goats vary in size. The largest, at 200 pounds, is on a diet, Krivit said, and is currently going without a second breakfast. (He’ll still get to eat Christmas trees). The goats are trained to stand on their hind legs, turn left and right, shake hands, and give kisses; sometimes they’ll lie down, but they can’t be convinced to roll over.

Founded in 2018, the nonprofit Philly Goat Project grew out of Krivit’s desire to create opportunities for Philadelphians to interact with nature in delightful ways. When not feeding Christmas trees to goats, the project offers animal-assisted therapy, visits to schools, libraries, and parks across the city, free job training for neighborhood kids, and community goat walks.

» READ MORE: How to recycle and dispose of your Christmas tree in Philly and the suburbs

After the festival, the goats will eat about two to three Christmas trees a day through May, when they will switch to weeds. The Philly Goat Project teamed up with the Streets Department to turn any extra trees into wood chips for parks and community gardens across the city. Some of the leftover tree trunks will line trails at Awbury to prevent soil erosion.

The event has a $20 suggested donation, funds that support the project’s community outreach efforts across the city, and there will be a second tree recycling festival on Jan. 21, with a rain date of Jan. 22. At both, there is a Goat Safari option for people who want to stay in their cars.

“When you’re making your New Years Resolution, don’t do it hoof-heartedly,” reads a little sign Jackson wrote that will greet visitors at the barn on Saturday.

“We love dad jokes,” she said.