Celebrating Lemon Tree Trust’s 2026 Annual Garden Competitions

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 the longer-standing growers who have taken part in the competitions over the years.

For the people we work with in refugee and IDP camps, a garden is never a small thing. Forced from their homes by conflict and living in camps that can feel harsh and temporary, residents describe the act of growing as something that restores a sense of normality and ownership. A patch of cheerful flowers, tomatoes and other vegetables ripening in the summer heat, or a fig tree reminding them of home: these things bring beauty and nourishment to difficult circumstances, restore dignity and reignite hope in the future. As Ahmed Tamo, a resident of Domiz 1 camp, has said: “I see life in this garden. It cleans the air and gives people hope.” The annual competitions build on this. They reward effort and creativity, they bring neighbours together and they send a clear message that the gardens people are growing with care and resourcefulness deserve to be celebrated.

Welcoming new participants

Interest in the competitions remains as strong as ever, with close to 500 people wanting to take part. To keep the judging process thorough and fair, the team shortlisted around 20 gardens from each camp.

Whilst the competitions have always honoured excellence, 2026 placed a deliberate focus on giving new gardeners the opportunity to be recognised, rather than awards going repeatedly to the same participants. At the same time, residents who have tended and improved their gardens year after year were acknowledged for their commitment.

Seven celebrations across nine camps

The garden parties took place across three weeks in June, beginning on 7 June in Domiz 2 and concluding on 21 June in Domiz 1, covering Gawilan (held in the Hêvî Community Garden where we welcomed a group of children dancing), Khanki, Bersive 1 and 2, Kabartu 1 and 2 and Essian along the way. Winners received certificates featuring a newly commissioned design, cash prizes and trophies and each garden party had its own celebration cake made locally. Special prizes were awarded for the three best gardens overall, going to residents in Bersive, Domiz 2 and Domiz 1 camps, with Khanki camp receiving the ‘best of the best’ prize. Domiz 2 camp was also honoured with an award for best garden coordinator.

The final party in Domiz 1, where 19 winners were honoured, brought together all the coordinators from across the nine camps. Shields of appreciation were presented to each of them in recognition of their dedication throughout the competition season and gifts were given to camp directors, police and Asayish officials.

A team effort

The annual competitions are one of the most significant events in Lemon Tree Trust’s calendar, and they take shape through the collective effort of the whole team. Aveen Ibrahem, our operations manager, leads the process from start to finish and is supported by our horticulture consultant Hamid Abdullah and our wider community garden team, as well as by the camp coordinators based across all nine sites. Together they promote the competitions, shortlist and judge the gardens and organise the celebrations in each camp. It is a major undertaking, carried out with great care.

Almost all of our team members in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have been forcibly displaced themselves, many of them living and working in the same camps as the people they support.

“Every year we work to make these competitions as meaningful and as joyful as possible, and this year was no different. From the early preparations to the final celebration in Domiz 1, we wanted everyone to feel genuinely valued for what they have contributed.

The pride on people’s faces when they received their certificates and then seeing the coordinators dancing together at the end of it all, this is what stays with you. These competitions belong to all of us.”

– Aveen Ibrahem, Operations Manager

We are deeply grateful to Aveen and the whole team for their dedication in making the 2026 competitions such a success. Our thanks go to the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) and Welat TV for their support with venues, judging and media coverage,

Support this work

The gardens celebrated in our Annual Garden Competitions are exactly what our current Tree & Plant Appeal is working to support: home gardens that bring shade, beauty, food and sanctuary at their shelters and transform refugee and IDP camps into greener, healthier places to live.

A donation to the appeal helps more families access the seeds, plants and trees they need to create and grow home gardens in their neighbourhoods.

You can support Lemon Tree Trust by making a donation, sharing our story on social media or signing up for our monthly newsletter.