Growing the next generation of gardeners in Gawilan camp

This spring, Othman, 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 each school, he spoke with the children about plants, gardening and the environmental benefits of growing.

Each student received seedlings to plant in their school grounds: pomegranate, fig, grape and dodonaea trees, alongside rose, rosemary and snapdragon seedlings, all grown from seed in the Hêvî Community Garden’s polytunnels.

“When I handed the trees and seedlings to the children and saw their faces light up, I was reminded exactly why we do this work. I want to help build a community where green plants are part of everyday life: in the streets, the schools and the spaces around people’s homes. Many of these children carry a great deal. When a child holds a young tree and understands that they can plant it, tend to it and watch it grow, it gives them a relationship with the living world that has real value for how they feel day to day. These children are the gardeners and land guardians of the future.”

– Othman Qewas, Hêvî Community Garden manager, Gawilan camp

School visits to the Hêvî Community Garden are planned for the new academic year, once final exams are complete.

This project follows school outreach the team has carried out since 2022, including visits to schools in the Kurdistan Region for World Children’s Day, and a gardening project with the Êriș Centre in Qamishli, Syria in January 2026.

Help more seedlings reach more children

The trees and plants given to the children of Gawilan camp were grown at the Hêvî Community Garden. To keep growing and distributing them, we need your support.

This spring we are raising funds to grow and distribute thousands more trees and plants across refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Camps like Gawilan camp are dense, city-like settlements with little greenery, where shade is scarce and outdoor space is limited. Trees cool the air during the hot summers and provide fruit. Flowers bring colour, beauty and pollinators. A small plant handed to a child can become a garden that a whole family tends.

Every donation this spring is being matched, so your gift goes twice as far.

Our target is £30,000 GBP / $39,500 USD.