You may have noticed that the west side of campus is packed with olive trees. These trees were planted soon after the University was established in the 1891, which makes them some of the oldest trees on campus. Back then, our mission was to evaluate potential crops for use in desert climates. This medium sized tree never caught on as a crop in Arizona, but the specimens from the experiment live on over a century later. Their impressive, gnarled, pale grey trunk and dark green foliage make this tree uniquely attractive. Recently, a campus group working with the statewide LEAF Network has started harvesting and pressing the olives into a tasty oil. We are proud to continue to make campus useful and productive in addition to beautiful!
