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
Meet Othman Qewas: Lemon Tree Trust’s valued team member and Gawilan camp resident Our gardening activities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are run for and by local displaced people – with Othman Qewas, our Garden Coordinator in Gawilan camp * – being one such person. Othman is a valued member of the Lemon Tree … Continued
We’ve made it easier to spread the joy of gardening this Christmas. When you make a donation to Lemon Tree Trust on behalf of someone special, you can send them our new downloadable design, accompanied by your own personalised message. How it works STEP 1: First, make a donation to Lemon Tree Trust via JustGiving … Continued
Our cooking competitions returned this year with 450 talented cooks whipping up mouth-watering meals in their home kitchens across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The competitions showcased all the delicious produce being grown in home and community gardens and the many nutritious dishes that can be made when combined with ingredients sourced locally. Despite limited … Continued