Prague turns its Christmas tree into an insect hotel and bookshelf

As part of a local tradition, the furniture will go to local elderly homes

The Mayor of Prague Zdenek Hrib gave away several pieces of handmade furniture to two local elderly homes today, as the city website informed. The gift has both sustainable and social functions as it was made out of what was until recently the city’s Christmas tree. Not only that but the furniture was prepared by a local vocational school, which allows the young people to practice and get a moral reward for their work.

Prague cuts down trees wisely

Back in January, the Old Town Square of Prague shined bright with a 22-metre-tall spruce, bringing joy to locals and tourists alike. But as the holiday season was over, the tree had to be removed. Luckily, Prague had already figured out how to put it to good use: as it did last year, it turned it into furniture for elderly homes.

To do this, the tree was cut down, and a company removed its branches and cut it into four-meter pieces. Planks were cut out from them, which were then industrially dried. Following this procedure, the material was delivered to the Secondary Vocational School in Jarov.

The students did what they are good at by producing two bookshelves and an insect hotel. The production of all the products took the pupils about two months and involved carpenters, plumbers, glaziers and painters. The Mayor then donated books themed around the city of Prague to fill the bookshelf properly.

"It is very important for our students if they can produce something meaningful in their teaching that does not end up somewhere in the warehouse, and at the same time something that is original. This year's products from the Christmas tree completely meet this goal," commented Miloslav Janeček, director of the Jarov Secondary School.

Last year, the pupils of the same school used spruce wood from the Christmas tree to produce two garden benches and four mobile flower beds, which were donated to a different elderly home.