Habitat 43 Winter 2016

detroitzoo.org • HABITAT | 15 detroitzoo.org/education/education  education Decorating a Holiday Tree Want to decorate a holiday tree with little environmental impact? Consider adorning a tree in your yard with wildlife- friendly décor – all winter long! It’s fun for you and the animals that share your neighborhood. ● Cut different colored bell peppers into rings and hang them on branches ● Place orange peel bowls filled with thistle on bushes ● Put sunflower seeds and peanuts in a recycled container ● Dry fruit slices and poke a hole into them to hang or rest on branches ● Cover pine cones with a minimal amount of peanut/ sunflower butter, roll them in birdseed, then place on branches or hang using biodegradable twine Make sure the items you decorate with are safe for the critters that will stop to visit. Clean up all remaining twine and containers after the holiday season is over. Share your findings with a friend. Once you’ve finished decorating your wildlife-friendly holiday tree, observe from a distance and keep track of the animals that stop by. Do you notice other signs of visitors, such as tracks in the snow? Can you find any of these tracks near your tree? Observing Tracks hind foot front foot hind foot Goose Dog Sparrow Skunk Deer Squirrel Chipmunk Racoon Opossum front foot hind foot front foot