The Nature Conservancy—a Shop Local Save Land Partner—recently released its official opinion on the great Christmas tree debate: real vs. fake.

Natural, locally sourced trees help protect the family tree farms that keep forests economically viable, concludes TNC. As well, natural Christmas trees have a smaller carbon footprint, over their life cycle, than their artificial counterparts.

Read more from TNC and learn about Pennsylvania’s newest forest conservation program, Working Woodlands, which works with small forest landowners, including tree farmers, to help keep the Commonwealth’s forests healthy, so that they can support our environment and our economy.