After the tinsel and lights have been put back into storage, Christmas trees on the Island are getting a second calling.

The Edgartown parks department has put out the word to Islanders to donate their leftover conifers to dune restoration efforts after the Dec. 18 storm decimated South Beach.

The trees will act as a snow fence, trapping and keeping sand from blowing away, until the town can fully restore the dunes with vegetation, conservation agent Jane Varkonda explained.

The idea to solicit old Christmas trees came from the Woods Hole Group, which has served as a consultant to the town in their conservation efforts, Ms. Varkonda said.

No tree is too short or skimpy to do its part, she added, though trees should be decently fresh and come undecorated.

“To put it this way, we don’t want last year’s firestarter,” Ms. Varkonda said. “Whatever we can throw at the beach, we can use.”

However, after the storm this week, the Edgartown parks department sent out an announcement that they were no longer accepting donations because the most recent storm made accessing the area too difficult.

Old Christmas trees are still in demand up-Island, however, where at the Native Earth Teaching Farm in Chilmark one person’s faded Christmas tree can become another goat’s pleasure. For the past several years, farmer Rebecca Gilbert has sourced trees from friends and family members to feed to her goats. Last year, she spread word to the public and received 20 trees in return.

“Sheep can eat grass all day but goats need roughage,” she said. “They need leaves and needles and bark....By the time they’re done with the branches all the bark will be stripped off.”

“Plus, it gives them something to do when they’re bored in the winter,” she added. “They get tired of me.”

While goats have notoriously hardy stomachs, Ms. Gilbert discouraged donors donating giving trees that have been sprayed with pesticides or deer repellent, as the goats will instinctively avoid eating their needles.

Ms. Gilbert has already received 10 trees for her herd of eight goats. No part of the pine goes wasted: the stripped branches become compost, biochar or firewood for her summer bonfires.

Recently, Ms. Gilbert has also used the trees in a bonfire for her winter grief ceremony. The ceremonies, offering a space for community-wide connection and contemplation, began as summer events, but this year Ms. Gilbert decided to expand them after feeling an increased need around the holidays.

“The holidays can be a difficult time for many people,” she said. “Using Christmas trees for that gives it a nice extra layer of meaning.”

To donate a tree to Native Earth Teaching Farm, leave it in the parking lot of 94 North Road, Chilmark.