Thank you for supporting our Community Garden Appeal
You did it! 🥳
Thanks to your generous donations, our Community Garden Appeal raised £3,662 GBP ($4,530 USD).
Plus, every donation has been matched by one of our most generous supporters, meaning the appeal raised an incredible £7,324 GDP ($9,060 USD).
Thank you so much.
And we loved receiving your messages of support throughout our Community Garden Appeal. Here’s a sample of the beautiful, heartfelt messages:
🍋 “Love Salwa’s story of hope. Somebody give her a hug from me 🫂 I’m happy for her in her garden.”
🍋 “Wishing you all great success and happiness with this new garden”
🍋 “sending love and wishes for happy, nourishing growing 🧡🌱”
🍋 “I hope this gift helps your refugees grow food and feed their families and community.”
🍋 “Your gardens look amazing. You, and they, are truly inspiring.”
How your donations to our Community Garden Appeal will help
We plan to invest your generous donations to our Community Garden Appeal in not one – but two projects – in displaced communities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Your donations may help towards:
1. Gardening activities and maintenance at the Azadi Community Garden
Earlier this year we extended Azadi – our flagship garden in Domiz 1 camp – to double the number of families we are able to support each year.
And your donations will help us with our ongoing gardening activities and garden maintenance costs.
We plan to officially open the new area in the coming weeks when temperatures are cooler – we’ll be sure to share all the details 🌿🎈
2. Creating a NEW community garden in Gawilan camp
We’re excited to be in the early stages of planning a new green space in Gawilan camp, where community members recovering from trauma can spend time tending a garden, planting seeds and re-connecting with nature.
Gawilan has a total planned capacity of 29,000 people and is currently welcoming around 1,000 new families from Bardarash camp (which is in the process of being closed).
More information to follow 🍅🥕🌸
Community gardens and gardening activities boost food security and help improve people’s physical and mental health.
We can’t thank you enough for supporting our appeal, to help us bring fresh food, flowers and hope to hundreds more displaced people, #OneGardenAtATime.
Learn more about our Community Gardens
Find out about our community gardens where gardeners grow food for vulnerable families, learn new skills and socialise.
Aveen Ibrahem is Operations Manager at Lemon Tree Trust, overseeing our community gardening and cooking programmes across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Her work supports activities in Azadî Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp, as well as outreach and coordination across the nine camps where Lemon Tree Trust currently operates. Having lived in Domiz 1 … Continued
Inside the polytunnels at the Hêvî Community Garden in Gawilan refugee camp, Garden Manager Othman Qewas carefully selects fruit trees and flowering plants grown from seed. Joined by Hamid Abdullah, Lemon Tree Trust’s Horticulture and Landscape Consultant, the plants are loaded into the car before setting off to visit families across the camp. As part of our ongoing children’s outreach programme in Gawilan camp, … Continued
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