Community orchards are spaces that bring people together through caring for the land, growing and sharing food, and building community. These spaces are some of the most welcoming, where people of all different backgrounds and experiences can find their place to belong. This week is Refugee Week, and we are celebrating those who are seeking sanctuary and finding belonging in community orchards.
Refugee Week is a global celebration of the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people who are seeking sanctuary. The week-long arts and culture festival for Refugee Week 2026 takes place from 15-21 June. Each year there is a theme to reflect on and explore, and this year’s theme is courage.
Refugees are people who flee their home countries for many reasons, including war and persecution for identity or beliefs. While people fleeing the impacts of extreme climate change and natural disasters are not currently included in legal definitions of a refugee or covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention, most refugees also come from countries that are highly vulnerable to extreme weather events and worsening climate conditions. The challenges of the climate crisis can make safe return difficult.
In the UK, people who are seeking asylum can only apply for refugee status once they arrive here as there aren’t any legal routes to apply from outside the country. When a person’s asylum application is approved, they are given refugee status, but the wait for a decision could be years. It takes an immeasurable amount of courage to leave your homeland, face uncertain journeys, and learn new languages and legal systems, not knowing if you will ever be able to return to the life you knew and to your roots.
Orchards are courageous spaces
It can also take courage to welcome, connect and celebrate diverse cultures and communities, particularly in the current political climate of division, blame, and rage. The word courage comes from the Latin word ‘cor’, which means ‘heart’, and having an open, welcoming heart is key to any thriving community space. The community orchards we support across England, Scotland and Wales are the beating heart of urban communities in towns and cities. The beauty of community orchards is that everyone can plant their roots there.
Refugee Week calls for all of us to be courageous with simple acts. We have picked three of these simple acts which are perfect community orchard actions.
Refugee Week Illustrations © Quentin Blake
Let Nature Inspire You
Community orchards are truly inspiring places. Nature is our inspiration for how diversity and migration strengthen our environment, with species of birds, butterflies, hoverflies and moths travelling across seas to our shores and calling our UK orchards home. People from all around the world also gather in urban community orchards. Their knowledge of tending to a diverse range of plants is a strength as we plan our orchards to adapt to a changing climate. There are many fruits and vegetables that are not indigenous to the UK, but now grow here very well, so knowledge sharing for how to care for and use these plants is essential.
Did you know that almost all people seeking asylum are not allowed to work until their asylum claim is assessed and their refugee status is granted? However, asylum seekers are allowed to volunteer, which makes community orchards a welcoming space for people to take part in voluntary community activities, share their skills and spend time in nature.
Being unable to work means that a person seeking asylum will not have money for leisure activities, so third spaces (social environments separate to your home or work), where there is no expectation to spend money, are so important for people seeking asylum. Community orchards are excellent third spaces that contribute to collective wellbeing and to efforts to protect and restore biodiverse habitats. It can take courage to visit your local community orchard for the first time, but there is so much to gain from connecting to your local community and to nature.
Sharing Food and Stories
Good food connects us all. Growing food together and eating food together are fundamental to thriving community orchards.
Did you know that state support offered to people who are waiting for their asylum claim to be processed is only £7 a day to live on? This is a very small amount to cover all basic necessities, including food. Volunteering at community orchards can be a wonderful way for people to access nutritional, often organically grown produce shared among those who have tended to the plants and trees. Good nutrition is an essential part of physical and mental health, and so sharing fresh fruits, nuts, herbs and vegetables among neighbours is a simple, but wonderful act of community care.
You will often find community orchard volunteers sharing meals together (especially home-made sweet treats), exploring how to use the produce they have grown together. New ways to use fruits, nuts, and preserves are always welcome, with people of different nationalities sharing traditional dishes from where they grew up, or from their ancestral home. This celebrates the food that has been grown but also celebrates the person sharing their culture. While it can take courage to share food that is personal to you, or to try new foods that you are not familiar with, community orchards are supportive spaces to celebrate food together.
Join the Movement
At a time when some seek to divide us, Refugee Week 2026 calls us to come together with the courage to welcome, to stand for what we believe in, and to celebrate culture and community. For us, this involves nurturing the community orchard spaces where people can come together to be rooted in belonging.
Our new plan for the next five years involves enabling more people from underserved communities to benefit from community orchards. This means involving refugees, young people, and those in the justice system in community orcharding, and creating training and employment pathways for Black people and people of colour, and for low-income communities. Establishing high quality edible green spaces in deprived areas is also crucial for social equity, with our aim for 85% of our orchards to be in high-deprivation areas. We believe that community orchards can transform lives, our communities, and beyond, which is why we create and champion community orchards across the country.
We know that change doesn’t happen overnight but each of our actions, no matter how small they seem, are courageous and contribute towards positive change.
By Franki Appleton
Further reading:
Take a look at our blog on racial justice and community orchards here, and our blog on the power of community growing space in Scotland here.
Read our new five-year plan here: Strategic Plan – The Orchard Project – 2026-2031
Explore all the Simple Acts you can take part in during Refugee Week.
Learn more about the most recent 2026 refugee statistics and facts from the Refugee Council.