Newham CFA members have brought Christmas sparkle to their home village … and a lot of it is clever recycling!
While a mass of hundreds of solar-powered twinkling lights give the intersection where the fire station stands a festive glow at night, during the daytime the recycled decorations stand out in pride of place.
Wooden pallets, sawn in sections, make the most magnificent Christmas trees with a coat of paint and circles of bright colour to imitate decorations. And while there’s no eye-catching comical Santa this year as there has been at the Newham station in the past, instead for a change there are two stout snowmen made with old tyres and complete with traditional twig arms and untraditional old fire protection goggles.
“Each year when we decorate the station we get a lot of positive comments from the community,” Newham CFA Captain Bryan Hornbuckle said. “So now, in the lead up to Christmas, we try to do something a little different than before so people walking their dogs or driving their cars past us have something new and rather fun to look at.”
Last year a Christmas tree made from painted tyres got a lot of compliments.
“Tyres are really easy to work with and readily available,” Capt Hornbuckle said.
“Bridgestone in Kyneton are terrific helping us source what we need. And now the tyre tree has gone to the Newham Primary School to be reused this Christmas, it’s taken recycling that extra step.”
And of course, the good thing about creating decorations out of recycled materials is that they are inexpensive as well as eye catching. Do drive by the Newham CFA station this Christmas and have a look for yourself if you are nearby. It’s not hard to find … it will stand out!
