The eco-business Make It Wild planted its 50,000th tree in the Harrogate district earlier today.

The tree was planted by volunteers at its Dowgill Grange site in Summerbridge, which means the company is now halfway to its goal of planting 100,000 trees in the district by 2030.

Helen and Christopher Neave, who own Make It Wild, estimate their team has planted over 11,000 in the current planting season alone, which began in November and ends soon.

The trees will contribute to the Northern Forest, a government initiative to plant 50 million trees from Liverpool to Hull.

A wide variety of native species have been planted including oak, silver birch, wild cherry, rowan and willow.

Helen said the trees are great for biodiversity and will attract a wide variety of insects and birds.

Helen said as well as capturing carbon dioxide from the amtosphere, the trees will have other benefits including drawing up water from the River Nidd to help alleviate flooding.

---

Read more:

• Harrogate school boosts environment by planting 500 trees


• Thousands of new trees could be planted in Harrogate

---

Make It Wild started 10 years ago when the couple bought a 26-acre plot of land near Kirk Hammerton.

More sites have been bought in Nidderdale including 111 acres at Bank Woods and a 44-acre neighbouring site known as Dowgill Grange.

Helen told the Stray Ferret they were inspired after planting 20,000 trees on the land at Kirk Hammerton. She said after waiting five years for the trees to grow, the amount of wildlife that came was “absolutely incredible”.

To fund the tree planting, Make It Wild sells tree dedications for weddings or birthdays, carbon offsetting for businesses and eco-friendly products including animal habitat boxes.