By Sadie Wise
Here’s the thing. Changing the world can feel like an insurmountable task. Where does one even begin? You can help solve homelessness or world hunger. You can donate to causes advocating education for women or support any number of worthwhile pursuits.
Goals like these are the focus of many non-profit businesses around the globe. Non-profit organizations use business tools to change the world. These organizations have the ability to impact social change and increase individual well-being for people of all ages and backgrounds. One sector of non-profit business is dedicated to helping refugees through the establishment of community gardens.
To understand the importance community gardens, one needs to understand the people in need. So, let’s talk about refugees.
The Challenges of Refugees
“By the end of 2019, 79.5 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations.”[1] Yes, that’s right—there are almost 80 million refugees in the world today.
Refugees are regular people like you and me who have been removed from their homes for one reason or another. Some common reasons are persecution, war, or violence as a result of difference in race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.1 And these people, in many instances, cannot go home.
Often, refugees need to cross national borders to seek asylum or protection. According to the UN Refugee Agency, “68% of those displaced across borders come from just five countries: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar.”[2]
On the other hand, “45.7 million people are internally displaced around the world,”[3] meaning they seek refuge within their own country, often in fields or forests. Both kinds of refugees face distinct challenges.
Refugees face many physical challenges such as lack of food, water, and shelter. They also struggle to stay mentally healthy. One study found that “[people] residing in refugee camps in low-income countries show the highest prevalence of anxiety and depression, reflecting the highly stressful conditions typically encountered in the camps.”[4]
The initial migration conditions cause plenty of stress and challenges among refugees, and even post-migration conditions of adjusting to a new life can be difficult. The conditions of refugee camps pose challenges. The post-migration conditions of adjusting to a new life are difficult as well. Refugees must navigate a foreign language, find work, and support their families, often while immersed in a culture they do not understand.
Obviously, there are several concerns here. Luckily, many non-profit organizations around the world are dedicated to helping refugees in one form or another. They provide services such as food, shelter, water, and healthcare.
However, there’s always more that could be done. And placing community gardens within refugee camps is an innovative way to help refugees with multiple concerns at once.
The Benefits of Gardening
The word gardening can encompass several things. It includes the growing of food (fruits and vegetables), flowers, trees, and other vegetation. No matter what form of gardening a person participates in, there are associated health benefits.
One notable study interviewed Syrian refugees residing in a refugee camp, many of whom had participated in a gardening competition. These refugees were asked questions to determine the impact that the gardening had on them.
The results from the study highlight “the physical benefits of outdoor exercise, the community benefits of doing things together, the importance of green spaces in reducing stress and increasing resilience, and the value of activity and occupational therapy in trauma recovery.”[v]
The physical benefits of gardening come as a result of increased outdoor exercise. In the case of the refugee participants, being in nature and working in a garden provided them needed exercise, and breathing fresh air helped them live a healthier lifestyle.
Another study mentions health benefits arising as a result of higher quality eating habits. It says, “gardeners consumed 1.4 times more fruit and vegetables than non-gardeners and were 3.5 times more likely to consume fruits and vegetables at least five times daily.”[vi]
The benefits of this gardening opportunity are huge for people living in poverty. If they can grow their own food, they have a better chance of consuming a balanced diet and maintaining good nutritional habits.
Mental health benefits also come as a result of gardening. The study by Millican, Perkins, and Adam-Bradford with Syrian refugees states, “over half the respondents mentioned the importance of their gardens to their own mental health and wellbeing, often citing the value of ‘fresh air.’”[vii]
Gardens provided peace, relaxation, and even purpose to the lives of these displaced people.
For example, many people brought umbrella tree seeds from Syria with them. Being able to go outside and plan these native seeds helped these refugees develop a sense of home. After all, these tiny seeds reconnected refugees with their home and culture through smells, tastes, and textures, providing them with needed comfort in a time of transition and uncertainty.
Community benefits also come as a result of gardening. The study found that people within the camp began sharing seeds with one another and selling their homegrown goods to neighbors, friends, and family. They also started talking among each other about what they were growing, forming friendships and sharing necessary materials along the way.[viii]
People encouraged each other to grow plants because gardening provided several things: “a safe space for kids to play and people to meet,” an area for men to smoke, and a place where women could “grow vegetables while watching their children at the same time.”[ix]
Even better, the people within the community “could appreciate the value a neighbor’s garden could bring to the camp as a whole and were keen to offer advice to help ensure [the garden] thrived.”[x]
In short, community gardens solved several challenges refugees were facing at once: it increased their physical health, improved their mental health, and gave them a sense of community in a foreign place.
The Influence of Community Gardens
Clearly, community gardens can make a difference when cultivated in refugee camps. In fact, one non-profit organization is already focused on doing this: The Lemon Tree Trust.
The Lemon Tree Trust is a non-profit organization based out of the United Kingdom, founded in 2015 by Stephanie Hunt. They have made a difference in the lives of thousands of refugees by living their mission statement: “Transforming refugee camps and communities, one garden at a time.”[xi]
The Lemon Tree Trust community is passionate about this topic because they believe “the simple act of gardening produces beauty, restores dignity, creates community and offers opportunity” “for displaced people globally.”[xii] Their initiative includes donating seeds to refugee camps worldwide. Founder Stephanie Hunt, in an interview with Erin Benzakein of Floret Flowers, stated:
On a trip to Jordan, visiting refugee camps set up in the wake of the Syrian war, I saw that people were gardening, despite everything, and this fascinated me. I spoke to people who had brought seeds and cuttings with them from home, and I was reminded of the community gardens of London and realized that this might be something that we personally, my husband and I, could support. I asked people what they needed, and their simple answer was seeds.[xiii]
Refugees want to cultivate gardens but cannot because they lack basic resources. This discovery is what started such an incredible organization. Giving refugees what they need to cultivate gardens provides them an opportunity to improve their mental and physical health and build their communities.
Conclusion
As mentioned, there are approximately 80 million refugees living around the world today. They face many challenges, both physical and mental, due to the relocation process.
Additionally, community gardens have a profound impact on refugees. Studies have proven the physical, mental, and communal benefits of gardening within refugee camps around the globe.
Tell your friends and families about these organizations and look for ways to support them. Let’s make the world a better place by facilitating growth in our hearts and in our backyards. Seeds may be tiny, but they can have a monumental impact—especially for refugees.
[1]“Refugee Statistics,” UNHCR, accessed October 24, 2020, https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/statistics/.
[2] “What is a Refugee?”
[3] “Refugee Statistics.”
[4] Michaela Hynie, “The social determinants of refugee mental health in the post-migration context: A critical review,” The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 63, no. 5 (2018): 297–303.
[v] Juliet Millican, Carrie Perkins, and Andrew Adam-Bradford, “Gardening in Displacement: The Benefits of Cultivating in Crisis,” Journal of Refugee Studies32, no. 3 (September 2019): 351–371, https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fey033.
[vi] Kari Hartwig and Meghan Mason, “Community Gardens for Refugee and Immigrant Communities as a Means of Health Promotion,” Journal of Community Health 41, no. 6 (December 2016): 1153–59, doi:10.1007/s10900-016-0195-5.
[vii] Millican, Perkins, and Adam-Bradford, “Gardening in Displacement,”351–371.
[viii] Millican, Perkins, and Adam-Bradford, 351–371.
[ix] Millican, Perkins, and Adam-Bradford, 351–371.
[x] Millican, Perkins, and Adam-Bradford, 351–371.
[xi] “About,” Lemon Tree Trust, accessed August 26, 2020, https://lemontreetrust.org/about/.
[xii] “About,” Lemon Tree Trust.
[xiii] Stephanie Hunt, “Interview: Stephanie Hunt, Founder, The Lemon Tree Trust,” interview by Erin Benzakein, Floret, August 4, 2020, https://www.floretflowers.com/interview-stephanie-hunt-founder-the-lemon-tree-trust/.
