Lemon Tree Trust - transforming refugee camps one garden at a time

Winter Appeal 2022-23: Help us spread the joy of gardening

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The Lemon Tree Trust is transforming refugee camps, one garden at a time. Gardening is a powerful therapeutic tool, addressing issues of isolation and mental health, producing beauty, belonging, food security, and promising economic stimulation. We pilot agricultural businesses and gardening initiatives in refugee communities, creating employment and restoring cultural identity, dignity and purpose. Our long-term vision is to expose every refugee camp in the world to garden competitions and to encourage self-sustaining ventures run by and for refugees. Through the provision of seeds and plants, we empower social and economic change.

Community gardens

Find out about our community hubs where gardeners grow food for vulnerable families, learn new skills and socialise.

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Competitions and awards

Learn how our annual home garden competitions and Garden of the Month award helps promote the benefits of gardening.

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Garden kits and seed distribution

Help us deliver more garden kits, plants and seeds so that displaced people can grow food and flowers.

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Chelsea Flower Show 2018

Explore our garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018 where we brought our refugee work to a new audience.

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Refugee stories

Delve into the lives and home gardens of displaced people with these videos and interactive media.

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Working in partnership

Read about our work with refugee communities in the USA, Uganda and Jordan.

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Meet Dozkin Said Amin ✨  “For two years, I

Meet Dozkin Said Amin ✨ 

“For two years, I have been benefiting from and participating in Lemon Tree Trust’s projects and activities. And my experience has been rich.  

Gardening at the Azadi women’s garden has helped to rid me of the mental health issues I had been suffering from. Cultivating the raised beds that Lemon Tree Trust has assigned to me is rewarding in so many ways.” 

Can you help us bring gardening to more people like Dozkin this year?  

You can support our winter appeal by making a donation or sharing this post with a friend. 

See bio for more details.  

Thank you. 

#WinterAppeal #GiftOfGardening #GrowingHope #OneGardenAtATime #WithRefugees #WithIDPs #EverydayRefugees #GardensWithoutBorders #CultivatingInCrisis #CommunityGarden #CommunityGrowing #GrowFromSeed

Enjoying some stories and practicing reading in th

Enjoying some stories and practicing reading in the Azadi Community Garden 📚🥰

#CommunityGardensOfInstagram
#OneGardenAtATime
#CommunityLibrary
#WithRefugees

The unglamourous side of running a community garde

The unglamourous side of running a community garden....

For the last few winters, the road linking the four sections of the Azadi Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp has become extremely waterlogged. Heavy winter rains often wash away the top layer, leaving deep ruts in both sides and with each heavy rainfall, the roads become fast flowing streams and in the case of larger roads, mini lakes (not an understatement!).

The build-up of mud is both difficult and dangerous to walk on. Our team in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and our community of gardeners unintentionally frequently trample mud into areas of the garden, which then has to get cleared up. And of course, regularly cleaning shoes gets a bit tiresome.

Enough was enough! We decided to take action and invest in resurfacing the road.

Aveen Ibrahem, our KRI operations manager, organised contractors to carry out works to improve the roads. We took delivery of several tonnes of gravel, which a JCB digger then spread as part of the road resurfacing work.

Our team is thrilled with their ‘new’ road. This type of behind-the-scenes work is not glamourous or exciting in the slightest but it does have a massive positive impact on the day to day operations of running a community garden in a refugee camp.

Make a donation to help us with the costs.

All donations, however small, will help cover costs of our projects across the KRI, which includes maintenance work such as road resurfacing – in addition of course to our work in bringing gardens and gardening to more people living in refugee and IDP camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2023. Link in bio.

#CommunityGarden #CommunitySpirit #LemonTreeTrust #OneGardenAtATime #EverydayRefugees #WithRefugees

Last chance to enter our competition ✨ Just bec

Last chance to enter our competition ✨

Just because the winter is typically gloomy and grey for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it doesn’t mean our homes have to be.

Do you have a flowering winter houseplant that’s bringing brightness and cheer to your living space right now?

Enter our competition (which closes today) to be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of @gracealexnaderflowers's book 'Grow and Gather' and some extra goodies.

It’s really quick and easy to enter. Details via bio.

Photos taken by @brittwilldyer at a Roadside Plant Store on the road to Gawillan camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

#FlowerPower🌸 #OneGardenAtATime #WithRefugees #WithIDPs #EverydayRefugees #GardensWithoutBorders #WinterAppeal #GiftOfGardening #GrowingHope #CultivatingInCrisis #CommunityGarden

Flower power 🌸✨ Our gardening team in the

Flower power 🌸✨

Our gardening team in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have been busy sowing row upon row upon row (!) of flower seed……😅 l

Once the carnation, daisy, marigold and zinnia seedlings have become more established plants, we will distribute them to people across the 10 refugee and IDP camps in which we work to help people grow at home.

Research has shown that sowing seeds and nurturing them into plants can help us feel calmer and boost our general wellbeing.

We have seen first-hand that gardening and spending time in nature is a powerful therapeutic tool for the displaced people that we work with. Gardening produces beauty and belonging, while helping to address mental health issues.

Furthermore, @suestuartsmith’s brilliant book ‘The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature’ shares how nature can radically transform our health, wellbeing and confidence. Sue presents scientific findings, insights and stories from many different groups, including asylum seekers, on how nature has helped with trauma, stress, depression and other health issues.

🌻🌹🌼🌹🌻🌼🌹🌻🌼🌹🌻🌼

Two days left to enter our competition! Are you taking part?

To join in the fun and be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of @gracealexanderflowers’s book ‘Grow and Gather’ and some extra goodies, please:

1. Share a photo or video of a seasonal houseplant or flower that brings you joy at this time of year and makes your house a home.

2. Include a short note (1-2 sentences) about why the plant or flower is your favourite at this time of year or what it means to you.

3. Remember to tag us!

Entries will be judged by our wonderful team in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Good luck! 🍀

#SeedSowing #CommunityGrowing #GrowFromSeed #OneGardenAtATime #WithRefugees #WithIDPs #EverydayRefugees #GardensWithoutBorders #WinterAppeal #GiftOfGardening #GrowingHope #CultivatingInCrisis #CommunityGarden

The children who visit the Azadi Community Garden

The children who visit the Azadi Community Garden with their mums love feeding our menagerie of animals, including chickens, ducks, rabbits and solo guinea pig 🐔🦆🐇😊

#CommunityGarden #WithRefugees #WithIDPs

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Winter appeal launched to spread the joy of gardening this Christmas

At this time of year when the weather is turning colder in refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, our gardening activities are more important than ever to bring people together and give them hope for their futures. That’s why, this Christmas, we have launched a special appeal, where … Continued

Essential road maintenance works in Azadi

For the last few winters, the road linking the four sections of the Azadi Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp has become extremely waterlogged. Heavy winter rains often wash away the top layer, leaving deep ruts in both sides and with each heavy rainfall, the roads become fast flowing streams and in the case of … Continued

Library introduced to the Azadi Community Garden

We’ve set up a mini library in our lounge area of the Azadi Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp. It’s a small way we can help our children to grow and flourish. Right now we only have a few books in our cabinet but we will continue to add to our small collection so that … Continued

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