CINCINNATI -- For the first time since 2021, Boy Scout Troop 24 is back at St. James Athletic Field selling Christmas trees this holiday season.

For decades, Troop 24 has held the annual fundraiser, but due to a national shortage of trees, the fundraiser has taken a halt.

Boy Scouts experiencing the event for the first time say they're enjoying it.

"I've been showing people around, and like, getting them the trees," Ryan Novak, a second-year Boy Scout with Troop 24, said. "I've been lifting them onto the cars and have also been making the popcorn for everyone else."

Scout Master Jason Mattingly says the reason for the national shortage goes back more than a decade and a half.

"They planted fewer trees after the economic downturn in 2008, so there were fewer trees available for about three years," Mattingly said.

It's their main fundraiser and Mattingly says they took a bit of a hit the last few years.

"We tried to substitute fundraisers, but it's very difficult to build something from scratch," Mattingly said.

Luckily, they're back on track this year.

Mattingly says it's good for the Boy Scouts and their parents.

"It's getting harder to find activities to do with your kids, I think, so this is something that the scout and the parent can do," Mattingly said.

The troop has been staying warm in the cold weather, and they're hoping to sell out soon.

"I recommend you should come here because these are fresh cut," Novak said.

If you need a tree still and would like to support the Boy Scouts, they'll be at St. James Athletic Field every day until they run out of trees.

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