A window cleaner with a passion for nature has planted trees on almost every street he’s worked over the last 30 years.

Tree warden Richard Argall has planted around 1,000 trees in and around Truro and continues to look after many of them to this day.

Speaking during National Tree Week, the 61-year-old wants to encourage others to get planting to brighten up their street, support local wildlife and help the environment.

Richard, who is an ambassador for the Forest for Cornwall project, developed an interest in nature at a young age.

“I’ve been growing things since I made the connection between a pea shooter and peas growing in my parents’ garden,” he said. “I always had house plants and when as I got older I started getting involved with allotments.

“During a period of unemployment I was looking after two allotments and they both had fruit trees. I started pruning them and taking care of them. Then I started looking at the trees around the allotment and tidied them up.

“When I moved to my present home and there was a small self-sown hawthorn growing in the garden. I didn’t want it where it was so I thought I’d replant it.

“That was the first tree that I actually planted. Once you do something like that then you’re hooked. That was it. That was the spark.”

In the early 1990s Richard started planting trees across the city with support of friends, and his customers.

“From then on you realise there are other people involved,” he said. “A good friend of mine had been planting trees previous to this.

“His friend sent him seeds and he grew them in his garden in rows and was giving them away so I started looking around where we could plant them in Truro.

“I was completely hooked. I started trying to find places everywhere and anywhere.”

Working closely with Truro City Parks department, Truro in Bloom and Cornwall Council’s tree officers Richard became involved in several projects across the city. Over the years he has planted all variety of trees in public spaces, schools, graveyards and private gardens. Now there are few streets where Richard hasn’t been involved in planting or looking after trees.

“I’ve always been a self-employed window cleaner and I push around a trolley for work,” he said.

“I came up with the ambition to plant a tree in every street I clean windows. I started to ask customers if they would like a tree in their garden.

“You will see a tree on pretty much every street that I have worked on. There are some streets where there are no gardens but they are very far and few between.

“I visit many of these trees every day. Some of them I walk past twice a day and I never get tired of looking at them.

“One tree in an urban desert can bring it alive. A single tree in a public square or a grass verge becomes so important.”

The Forest for Cornwall, conceived by Cornwall Council, is an ambitious tree planting project. Thousands of trees are being planted all across Cornwall in a bid to help tackle climate change. Richard, who is supporting the project, is urging other people to get involved and start planting in their area.

“My advice is to start simple,” he said. “Look around at newly planted trees and see if there is anything you can do to help them.

“If you want to start planting trees there is a lot of help and support for you.” 

You can support the Forest for Cornwall by planting just one tree in your garden, or get together with your neighbours and local community to explore what you could do to together to grow the Forest for Cornwall.