Durham, NC - The Duke University student chapter of the Society of American Foresters (SAF) is now taking orders for North Carolina-grown Fraser fir Christmas trees.

Proceeds will help fund a student-managed organic Christmas tree farm in Duke Forest.

Trees between 5 feet and 12 feet tall are available for pre-order through Nov. 6. Prices range from $35 to $160. To order or for more information, go to www.nicholas.duke.edu/christmastrees.

Pre-ordered trees can be picked up on Nov. 29 or Dec. 5 at the Duke Forest shed on Lemur Lane, located off Erwin Road near the Cameron Boulevard roundabout, west of Highway 15/501.

The trees being sold this year are not organic, but they have been grown using integrated pest management to minimize pesticide use.

In addition to offering buyers a more sustainable way to Christmas trees, the project helps support educational opportunities for students, said Nick DiLuzio, who is pursuing master of environmental management and master of forestry degrees at Duke.

SAF members used proceeds from the sale of trees last year to plant 300 organic Leyland cypress, Arizona cypress and Eastern red cedar trees on a three-acre plot of cleared land in Duke Forest. This year, they will plant 150 new trees of the same species. The trees will be ready for harvest and sale as certified organic Christmas trees in four or five years.