News

Inside the polytunnels at the Hêvî Community Garden in Gawilan refugee camp, Garden Manager Othman Qewas carefully selects fruit trees and flowering plants grown from seed. Joined by Hamid Abdullah, Lemon Tree Trust’s Horticulture and Landscape Consultant, the plants are loaded into the car before setting off to visit families across the camp.  As part of our ongoing children’s outreach programme in Gawilan camp, … Continued

Bringing together residents to celebrate the home gardens they have grown, tended and transformed over the past year, Lemon Tree Trust’s 2026 Annual Garden Competitions have taken place across nine refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This year’s competitions introduced a greater emphasis on welcoming new participants alongside … Continued

Girls and boys living in Gawilan refugee camp have come together for child-focused environmental workshops at the Hêvî Community Garden, brought to life by Lemon Tree Trust and the General Directorate of Social Care in Duhok (DoLSA). The workshops form part of the Child Protection and Climate Change Campaign, through which UNICEF supports DoLSA in … Continued

Many thanks to Megan Davis at Perennial Gatherings for her generous donation this May, the latest in a series of kind contributions to Lemon Tree Trust over the years. Perennial Gatherings is a Vancouver-based floral studio and social enterprise, specialising in thoughtfully curated arrangements made with locally grown, seasonal blooms. Profits from floral sales are … Continued

Each month, our teams visit home gardens across nine camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to select a Garden of the Month winner. This April, we are delighted to celebrate nine gardeners whose creativity, commitment and passion for growing have transformed the spaces around their home shelters. Why the award matters In camps where … Continued

This spring, Othman Qewas, our Hêvî Community Garden manager, has been visiting schools in Gawilan camp, distributing tree and flower seedlings to children and introducing Lemon Tree Trust’s work to a new generation of young growers. Othman visited all five primary schools in Gawilan camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, reaching 124 pupils. At … Continued