About
For years, campus groundskeepers cleaned up and disposed of the precious fruit that dropped from the university olive trees. This approach made sense for areas where the dropped fruit can be a safety hazard, such as bike paths. Under Maurice Hollman, associate vice-chancellor for campus operations and maintenance, the university has moved toward more sustainable management practices. One of the practices has been to harvest olives from the trees for the purpose of making olive oil.
In 2008, UC Davis is offering a limited quantity of super-premium, extra-virgin olive oil produced from the fruit of the campus' heritage trees. Grown without irrigation, harvested with care and bottled unfiltered, UC Davis olive oil is rigorously pure, intensely fruity and astonishingly fresh. Taste it next to mass-produced olive oils and you will understand that UC Davis makes a rare and remarkable olive oil.