Vienna Family Farm Collects Christmas Trees To Feed Goats, Sheep And Pigs

VIENNA, VA — Bardiya Amiri is committed to the idea of returning natural things to nature. This explains somewhat why he and a crew of people have been collecting Christmas trees from across Northern Virginia over the last week or so.

"What we do is we take the Christmas trees and instead of being trashed, we give it to the goats, the sheep and the pigs," said Amiri, who operates Hidden Haven, a family farm in the Vienna area. "They eat the needles, the branches and the bark. It has a lot of vitamins, vitamin C and stuff for them, and it's food for them."

Everything that's left over is turned into compost that will be used to feed Hidden Haven's gardens.

"Our program is harmonizing with nature," Amiri said. "Instead of trashing all our food scraps and trees, anything that can be compost should be composted in our opinion."

As the owner of Integrity Carpet & Flooring, Amiri considers himself to be just a businessman. But, his business is what's funding Hidden Haven and its activities, including the Christmas tree recycling project.

Amiri, who is an ordained pastor, uses the farm as a ministry to help young people who are experiencing difficulties.

"During the whole lockdown and everything, there were a lot of children suffering psychologically, some more so than others," he said.

Amiri and his wife Sanaz have turned their family farm into a haven, giving troubled teens a natural setting where they can find support and heal at their own pace.

One of the children, a 15-year-old boy named Ivan, came up with the idea of collecting Christmas trees and using them to feed the animals at the farm. Amiri liked the idea and posted a notice on NextDoor. Soon, they were getting a steady stream of requests from around the area.

"We do between 20 to 25 deliveries for picking up a day," Amiri said. "We can do that comfortably, continuously as long as people give us the trees. That's a very comfortable number."

Sanaz Amiri noted that they were trying to limit pickups to the Vienna area, even though they've gotten requests from as far out as Annandale and Potomac, Maryland.

"As long as we can keep the volume coming, the more trees that are being composted and not in the dump the better," Bardiya Amiri said.

Vienna area residents who wish to have Hidden Haven come by and pickup a Christmas tree can put in a request by calling 703-898-4406. The tree should be free of lights, ornaments, tinsel and any other decorations.