Meet our community gardeners Ahin, Khadija, Nasreen and Fatima
The Azadi Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp is overseen by Aveen (left) and her community gardener team, pictured above. We asked them some questions to find out more about what they like doing when they’re not gardening.
Q: What is your favourite plant / flower?
A: Both Khadija and Fatima’s favourite is jasmine. Ahin loves tulips and Nasreen prefers camomile.
Q: Do you like to cook? And if so, what’s your ultimate ‘comfort’ meal?
A: All but Ahin love cooking, with favourite dishes of malfof (Ahin), maqloba (Khadija), pizza (Nasreen) and dolmades (Fatima).
Q: Do you have a hobby outside of work?
A: When they are not helping in the garden or working on Lemon Tree Trust projects, Ahin loves learning maths and English, Khadija loves to write, Nasreen spends time learning languages and Fatima loves reading and listening to music.
Q: If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
A: Ahin would like to visit Canada for its peace; Khadija would like to settle in the region and achieve her dream; Nasreen would travel to Italy for its beauty and nature and Fatima would like to go to Germany because she feels a close affinity with its culture.
Meet some of our other team members
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