鶹ýӳ

鶹ýӳ Olive Oil

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About the Harvest

Since 2012, 鶹ýӳhas invited Claremont College students, faculty, and staff, as well as the local community, to participate in harvesting the College’s olives. The harvest takes place when the olives are ripe – typically around October/November.

An is held to select the winning design for the olive oil bottles.

For more information, visit the website.

“This event highlights the intentionality of the original landscape design—to honor, utilize, and embrace seasonality for the benefit of the students.”

Joya Salas
Landscape Operations Manager at 鶹ýӳ

History of 鶹ýӳOlive Oil

The presence of these olive trees on 鶹ýӳcampus today is the result of student activism in the 1960s. In 1968, 鶹ýӳstudents “took to the trees,” protesting the removal of the Olive Grove during planned construction of the Humanities Building. As a result, 60 olive trees were carefully dug up, boxed, and stored during construction and eventually replanted.

In 2007, Professor Nancy Neiman taught the Core II course, “The Politics and Culture of Food,” in which she asked her class to choose an aspect of the 鶹ýӳcommunity that could be more sustainable. Students developed a proposal to produce olive oil from the existing olive trees on campus, inspiring a new movement on campus to utilize the olives and other edible plants on campus as a food source.

On November 9, 2012, dozens of students, staff, and faculty members gathered for 鶹ýӳ’s first olive harvest. More than 700 8-oz. bottles were produced from a single day of harvesting. Described as “fruity, buttery, and smooth, with a good bite and an olive note,” 鶹ýӳolive oil was born. To date, olive oil sales have covered all production costs.

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