Gardeners are a lovely bunch! Thank you for all your support in 2020
One thing that Covid-19 has highlighted is that gardening has no borders. We are all finding solace in our personal green space, wherever we are in the world.
Your support throughout 2020 and beyond – whether that’s sending seed to our emergency appeal, making a one-off or regular donation via our JustGiving page, or liking, commenting on or sharing our social media content – has enabled us to spread joy, hope and purpose to displaced people through the power of gardening.
Gardener to gardener, thank you 💚
In 2020, amidst camp closures and national lockdowns, we successfully:
🌿 Ran our popular annual garden competitions remotely, attracting hundreds of entries from families across 7 camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)
🌿 Distributed over 10,000 packets of donated food and flower seeds to displaced people living in refugee and IDP camps in the KRI and sent donated seeds to refugee garden projects in the UK
🌿 Rolled out our monthly ‘Garden of the Month’ initiative in a total of 8 camps, distributing seeds and lemon trees as prizes for winners
🌿 Created a new community garden in Bersive 1 camp in the north of the KRI, in partnership with SEED Foundation, as a pilot for developing more
🌿 Introduced a library of children’s activities, supported by the Royal Horticultural Society, to help families in all parts of the world keep busy
🌿 Built a new learning hub in the Azadi community garden for virtual and on location learning, which doubles up as a seed and plant distribution base
🌿 Shared more recipes from our gardeners in Kurdistan, including our Sidra Tea Blend – from their kitchen to yours, food and flowers have the power to bring us all together
Your AMAZING ongoing support means that we can continue to safely:
🍋 Distribute vegetable, flower and herb seed to displaced people in refugee and IDP camps across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
🍋 Grow, nurture and harvest produce in our Azadi community garden in Domiz 1 camp and distribute this to vulnerable families
🍋 Celebrate home gardens in 8 camps with our Garden of the Month initiative and annual garden competitions
🍋 Support refugee led gardening projects in Greece, the UK and USA with donated seed and children’s gardening activities
Our special thanks to…
Our sincere thanks go to everyone who supported us in 2020 and continues to champion our work. There are a few wonderful people and organisations we would like to extend a special thanks to:
- Anna Rósa Skin Care
- Zena Alkayat at Bloom magazine
- CAF Canada
- Linda Combi
- Olivia Cuthbert at The National, UAE
- The Dallas Foundation
- Jameel Arts Centre Dubai and the Down to Earth festival team
- Floret Flower Farm team, with particular thanks to Erin Benzakein, Becky Crowley, Jill Jorgensen, Angela Strand and Nikki Boyce
- Mr Fothergill’s Seeds
- Annie Guilfoyle and Noel Kingsbury at Garden Masterclass
- Andrew O’Brien at Gardens, Weeds & Words
- Harris Bugg Studio
- Herbes Folles
- Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld at The Land Gardeners
- Anna Greenland blog
- Leafy Couture and Casey Orr
- Michael Michaud Jewellery
- Tom Massey
- National Philanthropic Trust
- Network for Social Change, with particular thanks to Anne Robbins
- Iliane Ogilvie Thompson
- Plants For My Garden
- Prism the Gift Fund
- Royal Horticultural Society
- SEED Foundation, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
- Lucy Hutchings at She Grows Veg
- Lalage Snow
- Sustainable Food Trust
- Where the Leaves Fall magazine
- Britt Willoughby Dyer
- Michelle Woo
And a huge thanks to everyone else who has supported Lemon Tree Trust in some way, however small 💚
Make a donation
The Lemon Tree Trust welcomes one-off and regular donations.
To make a donation, please go to: lemontreetrust.org/donate.
Our core infrastructure costs are fully funded so 100% of your donation directly supports gardening projects and initiatives in refugee communities.
- $1 / £1 can give a family a packet of vegetable seeds
- $5 / £5 can provide a family a basket of nutritious produce
- $25 / £25 can fund a Home Garden Starter Kit for a new family arriving in the camp, containing a Home Garden Manual, seeds, tools, a grow-bag and a children’s gardening activity
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 … Continued
By donating to Lemon Tree Trust on behalf of someone special this festive season, you’re supporting gardens and green spaces that bring comfort, connection and a renewed sense of home for people who have been forcibly displaced. After donating, you can download a personalised gift template to customise with your message, either to send digitally … Continued
Momentum continues at the Hêvî Community Garden in Gawilan refugee camp as the team nears completion of a new polytunnel. The 33m long and 9m wide structure, equipped with an in-built water irrigation system, was built using frames donated from another camp and heavy duty covers sourced on site. Once in use, it will support … Continued