No carols about the holly and the ivy will be sung in New Zealand this Christmas if the Conservation Department, the official guardian of the countryside, has its way.
Sarah Boyle, a so-called department ”weedbuster” on the east coast of the North Island, said those traditional festive items threaten the environment.
Far from being the season to deck the halls with boughs of holly, she told Wellington’s Dominion Post newspaper on Saturday: ”’Tis the season to bring some Christmas cheer to our gardens and surrounds by clearing them of any invasive weeds that might be lurking.”
Holly and ivy are high on the list of the most invasive weeds.
”They unfortunately threaten our native trees and shrubs,” she said. — Sapa-DPA