Boroughbridge grandmother grows 4,000 trees in her back garden

A woman passionate about saving the planet from climate change has grown more than 4,000 trees in her garden and donated them to be planted elsewhere.

Janet Willoner, 81, said she was inspired by her grandchildren’s love of nature and her specimens have gone from her Boroughbridge home to destinations including Knaresborough Forest Park and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves.

She said the project has now become a “way of life” that she finds “hugely inspiring”.

“I felt the human race is in a crisis at the moment, but from any crisis there’s the opportunity for something better or different to emerge from it.”

She started cultivating the trees in 2019, when her grandchildren took part in the Fridays for Future climate demonstrations.

She thought planting trees would be too difficult, so instead foraged seeds from lanes around her home.

She initially grew 400, but kept her venture a secret until it became clear it would be successful.

“I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing because I thought if they don’t grow, I shall look very silly,” she said.

Six years later, Janet estimates she has grown around 4,200 trees, gifting them back to nature through a variety of organisations including Make it Wild, a community interest company (CIC) working to regenerate North Yorkshire landscapes.

She estimates she grows around 800 trees, from a variety of species, per year.

For her green-fingered efforts, Janet has been nominated in the Green category of BBC Radio York’s Make a Difference Awards.

However, she has no plans for retiring her gardening gloves any time soon.

Her aim was to grow 5,000 trees in 10 years, but she is ahead of schedule and due to reach the target next year.

“The trouble is, I don’t think I can stop. I think even when I get to 5,000 there’s quite a big possibility that I’ll keep going,” she added.

“You don’t need a degree in order to grow trees, anybody can do it who has got the time and the interest and the commitment.”