Nice job @stickdonkey! You made a lot of progress for week 1. You’ve earned full points + some extra for the effort 👍
I’ve got 2 main notes to offer: First is that the the leave setup feels a bit paper-y. Have you tried copying normals from a sphere to the planes with the data transfer node? That could possibly help soften / fluff them.
Second note is the tree’s base. Since tree roots flair out at the base, the base should taper out more than round over:

I’m going to spend some time this week exploring foliage techniques for trees and bushes. Look for a post in the nature team thread for some [hopefully] helpful tips.