Gardening project with the Êriș Centre in Qamishli, Syria
We are pleased to have run a small gardening project with the Êriș Centre in Qamishli, Syria. The centre helps supports 12 children aged five and above with a range of disabilities and additional needs. They are supported by a team of 17 trainers, assistants and supervisors.
We arranged two simple gardening activities for the children. First, they planted cress seeds together as a group, learning how to sow and nurture seedlings. The children have already seen green shoots appear, as shown in the below photo on the right.
Each child also received a plant grown at our flagship community garden, Azadî, in Domiz 1 camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The children wrote their names on their pots to encourage daily care of their plants at the centre. A small celebration with a cake and juice was held, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the day together.
Our operations manager, Aveen Ibrahem, said:
“The children’s joy was indescribable, and they felt responsible for something special. Through these simple activities, we tried to bring happiness and joy to their hearts. Supporting children to engage with gardening from a young age is an important part of our work, as it helps build confidence, curiosity and a stronger connection with the natural world.”
Building on previous outreach visits to schools, we have plans this year to extend greening and tree planting in school settings, particularly where access to green space is limited. We will also welcome more school groups to our community gardens, building on last year’s visit when we welcomed a group of children to the Azadî Community Garden for a tour and hands-on planting activities.
As a gardening charity supporting displaced communities, it was particularly meaningful for us to support this project in Syria. Many of the people we work with and employ have been forcibly displaced from Syria, including our operations manager Aveen who works and lives in Domiz 1 camp. We will stay in touch with the centre and hope to run future gardening projects in Syria.
Support our work
If you would like to support projects like these, we welcome donations and funding that enable us to deliver gardening activities with children, schools and community partners. Your support helps us expand greening initiatives, including tree planting and educational visits, reaching more children through practical and accessible projects. Make a donation here, or funders can get in touch by email.
Aveen Ibrahem is Operations Manager at Lemon Tree Trust, overseeing our community gardening and cooking programmes across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Her work supports activities in Azadî Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp, as well as outreach and coordination across the nine camps where Lemon Tree Trust currently operates. Having lived in Domiz 1 … Continued
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