Planting seeds for the future: Your thoughts, our next steps
We recently invited our incredible community of supporters to share their thoughts on our work, impact and future direction. Your feedback has been insightful and inspiring, helping us shape our next steps.
Thousands of displaced people have found hope, healing and dignity through gardening, thanks to your support. But as we look ahead to the future, we want to ensure we are making the biggest impact possible – and that you feel connected to the work you help make happen.
This is why we asked for your thoughts. Here’s what we learned…
What you told us
Our mission resonates
The vast majority of people said our mission either “strongly resonates” or “resonates” with them, highlighting the deep alignment between our work and your values.
Confidence in our impact
Most believe we are achieving our mission “very effectively”, while others feel we are doing so “somewhat effectively” – showing confidence in our work. Thank you!
Where interest lies
Our work in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is of greatest interest, with the majority of people highlighting community gardens, home garden support and education programmes/workshops as key areas they’re most interested in.
There was also notable interest in our UK and USA initiatives, including the seed appeal and community garden projects.
What you want to hear about
The top topics of interest include:
- Updates on current projects
- Stories from the people we help
- Upcoming projects
- Impact reports
- Educational content about refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs)
- Behind-the-scenes updates
How often you want to hear from us
Most people want regular updates on our work, with more than half preferring to hear from us via email on a monthly basis.
Expanding our reach
To attract more supporters and beneficiaries, you generously shared your ideas and thoughts, which we have organised into the following themes or key areas:
- Collaborating with well-known people and working with gardening magazines, newspapers and podcasts to feature Lemon Tree Trust
- Tell the stories of the people we help with images and videos
- Expand partnerships with garden clubs, schools and faith communities
- Be clear about the impact we are having
- Show the beauty of gardens to increase interest from those beyond the gardening community
These insights will really help improve what we do and how we tell people about it.
How you want to support us
The most popular ways people want to get involved include one-time donations and buying merchandise. Also of interest was volunteering (if available) and sharing content or referring others.
Commitment to financial support
Many respondents expressed a strong willingness to support us financially in 2025, with the majority stating they are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to contribute. Thank you.
The key factors that encourage people to give are:
- Clear impact reports showing how donations are used
- Personal stories and testimonials
- Opportunities to be involved directly through events and volunteering
- Matching donation opportunities
These insights will help guide our fundraising efforts and ensure we continue to build trust and transparency with our supporters.
Future fundraising ideas
The most popular new initiative was the “Adopt a Garden” twinning programme, with a strong level of interest. Online events and behind-the-scenes project tours also ranked highly, with merchandise and product sales gaining some interest too.
What’s next?
Based on your feedback, we are working to:
✔️ Change our email updates to go out on a monthly basis
✔️ Share more behind-the-scenes and project updates, more stories of the people we help and more information about our impact
✔️ Carry out publicity and media activities to help spread the word about our work to coincide with our 10th year anniversary in 2025
✔️ Put less focus on fundraising appeals in 2025, while continuing to offer match funding opportunities for specific projects where available
✔️ Explore new fundraising initiatives – we are considering the “Adopt a Garden” programme, LTT merchandise and other ideas to engage supporters in meaningful ways from 2026
Your support makes all the difference
Your input helps us grow – literally and figuratively! Thank you so much for being part of this journey.
As ever, we are a small team with limited resources, so while we want to make big changes and grow to help many more displaced people (after all, our long-term vision is a world in which every person who has been forced from their home has access to a garden), our approach must be slow but steady.
Want to get more involved?
We deeply appreciate everyone who took the time to share their opinions and ideas with us. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a supportive and generous community.
If you’d like to help in other ways, here are some ideas:
Together, we are bringing beauty, dignity and opportunity to communities left ravaged by the effects of war.
Thank you.
Yesterday, team members Hamid and Othman led a women’s workshop in Hêvî Community Garden, bringing together beneficiaries to learn, share and grow in community. The session began with an introduction to the work of the Lemon Tree Trust, our vision and our ongoing efforts across refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps. In places where … Continued
Noora, originally from Damascus, Syria, cooks meals that remind her family of home, using fresh herbs and seasonal produce from her small garden in Gawilan refugee camp, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “My mother taught me to cook. Now my children help me. I never give up on the recipes that remind me of home,” she … Continued
As we reach the halfway point of 2025, we are delighted to share some of the impact your support has made possible across our projects. Thanks to your support, our projects are creating meaningful change for forcibly displaced communities, improving access to fresh food, mental wellbeing, and opportunities for connection and belonging through community gardening. … Continued