trees

A story in the LA Times this past weekend — “Caltech branches into … olive oil” — covers the geeks at the SoCal technical university coming up with a great scheme.

Take 130 trees dropping olives on campus walkways. Add in students seeking prankish respite from their studies. Mix in a French-born university president with a taste for Mediterranean cuisine.

That’s the formula for making olive oil at Caltech.

The institution better known for rocket science is launching its own brand of the golden kitchen condiment, produced from the trees on its Pasadena campus. A minor flood — upward of 300 gallons — is expected this fall.

Caltech has joined up with the California Olive Oil Council in order to get their products tested in various ways, including whether it gets rated as “extra virgin.”

According to the story, UC Davis and Cal State Fresno have also ventured into olive oil production.

“L.A. to Be Remade in the Shade”

The mayor kicks off a program to plant 1 million trees, giving the city some cool.

Putting a decidedly Los Angeles twist on the legend of Johnny Appleseed, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Saturday launched a program to add 1 million trees to a city known for its freeways and concrete-lined namesake river.

Villaraigosa, flanked by other city officials and celebrities involved in environmental causes, kicked off the Million Trees LA program with a family-friendly ceremony — and tree giveaway — at Hazard Park on the city’s Eastside.

Sounds like a good start.