Phil McAfee pored over some work at his desk on a late summer afternoon when his son, Andrew, emerged from packing up his bedroom.

Andrew dropped a well-worn folder with about three years of community service paperwork onto his father's desk.

"Dad, I want you to take over this project," he said. "It's yours now."

"Are you sure?" his father asked.

"Yes. I know you can do it."

At that moment, in August 1986, Phil McAfee became the Christmas tree guy.

McAfee took over the volunteer job of Christmas tree pickup coordinator for the Mount Baker Council of the Boy Scouts of America as a favor to his son, who was recently married and was moving into his first apartment.

McAfee has held the position for 25 years because of his love for the project.

"I picked it up that Christmas and I've been doing it ever since," says the Georgia-Pacific retiree. "I enjoy the program, I enjoy the kids and the whole effort of recycling trees has been quite rewarding."

McAfee, troop leaders and droves of Scouts and parent volunteers hit the wintry streets by 8 a.m. the first Saturday after New Year's to gather thousands of discarded Christmas trees all over Whatcom County. The Scouts then haul the unwanted trees to designated drop-off points, where they are chipped into tons of mulch for use in Bellingham parks.

Peter Self, former district director of the Mount Baker Council, says more trees now meet a useful fate than before McAfee took over the program.

"We just wanted to keep the trees out of the landfill," he says.

HISTORY OF SERVICE

The tree recycling program, which McAfee estimates began in 1977 or 1978, started as a community service project for the now-defunct Troop 40. After a successful first year, McAfee's sons and their troop joined the effort.

Around age 16, McAfee's son Andrew assumed the role of pickup coordinator and helped the program expand the next two years before passing the project on to his dad.

Since then, McAfee has further boosted the program to include 16 troops and packs, with each group comprised of 20 to 40 Scouts, plus their parent volunteers.

"The community has been very supportive of Boys Scouts over the years," he says. "Every year, (the project) grows just a little bit more."

To advertise their effort, some of the troops print informational door hangers with the pickup date and instructions for residents to put their trees at the curb by 8 a.m. The troops visit their assigned neighborhood to place the hangers on doors about 10 days prior to pickup.

In addition to providing hassle-free tree removal and mulch for parks, the Scouts' and volunteers' hard work brings in some green, other than the evergreens they gather at the curb. When the Scouts collect the trees, they also knock on each door to ask if the resident would like to donate. If no one answers, they leave a self-addressed envelope to make the donation process convenient.

"Everson, their unit out there, called and asked if they could participate," McAfee says. "I gave them all of the suggestions what to do as far as advertising and knocking on doors and things like that. And they were very tickled. They were surprised by how many donations came in."

McAfee says he doesn't know how much money is collected by each troop, but says donation envelopes trickle in for months after the trees are picked up. Donations are often used to buy camping equipment, or to pay for boys who otherwise couldn't afford to go on camping trips, he says.

McAfee has tried to pass on the title of Christmas tree guy the past few years, but hasn't found anyone ready to take the reins. In the meantime, he enjoys helping the Scouts.

"It's a great community service project," he says. "It's very warming to see all the volunteers and all of the people come together to make it the success that it is."

Self, the former Mount Baker director, says McAfee has had a real impact.

"Year after year, Phil has gone out and made sure the program has happened and all the areas are covered," he says. "I can't imagine how many phone calls he gets every year. And he answers every one with a smile.

"He's a great example for the boys."

Lindsey Peacock is a freelance writer and editor in Vancouver, B.C.