Adam Gretton – Founder
I founded More Trees in 2008 as a response to climate change – bringing children into the world made me want to make that world safer! I am also surrounded by tree lovers in my family with tree surgeon / arborist siblings. Whilst offsetting carbon is still a key motivator for me, what I really get a kick out of is the way the project is forging friendships and building communities. Stuck behind a laptop for most of my working life, getting my hands in the dirt is a welcome respite that brings enormous wellbeing benefits.
My professional career is in business development, where I take innovative hiring technologies and solutions to market.
In my downtime, aside from More Trees, I like to spend time with my family, go for dog walks, potter in the garden, and pretend to be a DJ.
Lewis Morrison – Chair
Bio coming soon!
Faris Attia – Trustee
I have a strong background in agriculture, having managed a 200-hectare rice, wheat, and palm date plantation in Iraq, overseeing 150 tenant farmers, directing investment to improve yields, and establishing processing facilities. Beyond agriculture, I have also supported numerous start-ups and served as a consultant for the World Bank, providing strategic capacity-building support to Iraq’s public and private sectors.
My personal experience with mental health challenges, coupled with involvement in therapeutic gardening projects with Grow for Life and Bath City Farms, fuels my passion for promoting personal growth, social bonds, and community engagement. I leverage these experiences to help build stronger, more connected local networks, enhancing health, wellbeing, and community regeneration through collective environmental care.
As a trustee at More Trees BANES, I will bring extensive experience in community development, strategic management, and social impact, and help to advance the organisation’s mission of fostering wellbeing and connection through tree planting and local engagement.
Judith Barrass – Trustee
Bio coming soon!
Katherine Evans – Trustee
I have a PhD in Botany and am passionate about trees.
In 2021, I helped set up Corston Community Orchard which is now a thriving project that supports local young people to achieve their Duke of Edinburgh awards.
I work at the University of Bristol where I lead on the design and delivery of the policy and procedural framework for a medical research database.
I am really looking forward to meeting and working with the More Trees Banes staff and volunteers.
Peter Harvey – Trustee
I am an environmental lawyer and editor with a longstanding commitment to environmental and community-led action. Tree planting is such a vital tool in tackling climate change, enhancing local biodiversity and fostering public engagement with nature. It is fantastic that More Trees doesn’t just plant trees: we collect and grow the seeds on amazing community nurseries as well.
My trustee, director and governance experience includes currently being a vice chair and a trustee of the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA), which is a charity shaping better UK environmental law and policy at both local and national levels. Previously, I was a non-executive director of Bath and West Community Energy (BWCE), a successful community benefit society delivering renewables locally. I have also chaired the board of trustees for BWCE’s affiliated community energy fund charity, which makes grants from BWCE’s surplus to support local green charities. As a trustee I not only want to ensure we keep doing what we are doing so well, but that we also grow sustainably.
I have lived in Bath for over 20 years and in my spare time you will find me on my allotment, cycling or kayaking, as well as planting more trees of course.
Patrick Self – Trustee
I am environmentally-minded and want to do something physical to help the planet and joined MTB as a volunteer in early 2025, having seen an MTB social media post. I have planted tree saplings, collected seeds, and worked at the MTB hub as a volunteer, where I have helped with the fiddly work of finding which seeds are sprouting in bags of grit and compost, planted seeds, pricked out seedings, and helped with the hub infrastructure – including several sessions digging the trench for the water supply to the hand wash basin in the compost loo! In mid-2025 I saw an opportunity to join the board of trustees, and realised that my other skills could benefit to MTB in that role too.
In my previous work as an IT contractor, I worked as a Business Analyst – often in banks or building societies, where understanding rules around regulations and governance were very important and part of my job. I often challenged stakeholders to ensure they understood what they were asking for (and the implications) so that we gained the best value from the available budget and that expensive scope-creep was minimised. My career has also involved project management: I have worked for both large corporates and also small clients, which I think is useful for understanding how a small organisation like MTB needs to be managed.
I have also been a director and trustee of another small charity for 12 years, including 8 years as chair, and 3 as vice chair. As well as being trustee of that charity, I have also run my own small, limited company as director since 2012 and as a result I understand the governance issues around charities and small businesses. I know how to find things out for myself, and when to ask an expert for suitable advice. As a trustee, I’m aware that I need to keep an eye on how the organisation is being run, monitor the finances, and keep it on track to its stated purpose: “To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment by promoting biological diversity through the growing and planting of trees and supporting the growing and planting of trees principally but not exclusively in the local government area of Bath and North East Somerset.” – from the MTB Constitution.
Outside of MTB, I am on several voluntary committees, mostly in the village where I live, I run a small side-hustle business providing website help to individuals and small businesses, and I am the caller in a local ceilidh band: do you need some fun with ceilidh dances at your next party?!