Making the Desert Bloom One Olive Tree at a Time
Making the Desert Bloom One Olive Tree at a Time
April 16, 2012
Americans for Ben-Gurion University is pleased to announce a new funding initiative, “Plant a Tree to Seed Desert Research,” to advance desert agriculture. An olive tree forest is being planted in Wadi Mashash, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s (BGU) agricultural research farm located about 20 miles south of Beer-Sheva.
This initiative will provide an affordable opportunity to support BGU’s desert agriculture research that is environment Researchally friendly and promotes one of BGU’s major missions to sustainably develop the Negev and make the desert bloom. It will also provide a great opportunity for Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s current donors to celebrate milestones or commemorate the memory of a loved one.
“The olive tree is a symbol of Israel, a reminder of our extraordinary heritage in our biblical homeland and a prized example of the remarkable agricultural and energy potential of drylands around the world,” says Doron Krakow, Americans for Ben-Gurion University executive vice president. “The research done at Wadi Mashash will bring knowledge to the world – knowledge that will help produce food, cash crops and more sustainable farming practices.”
Wadi Mashash is the only site in Israel where agricultural production is entirely based on the collection and use of the desert’s rare flood waters. The techniques developed at Wadi Mashash are used to combat desertification worldwide and facilitate sustainable development of drylands. Already, much of the knowledge gained by past experiments, such as an acacia tree forest, is helping many countries in Africa grow trees for food, fodder and firewood without depleting all their resources.
Prof. Pedro Berliner, director of BGU’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, currently heads the research centered on agroforestry systems irrigated with runoff water. Agroforestry technology called the “intercrop system” will be used in the new olive grove. In between each row of olive trees, a grain (the intercrop) will be planted. The commercial “opportunity” crop will provide food for both animals and people. The fruit of the olive trees will be used to produce high quality olive oil.
Donors will have the opportunity to honor or dedicate an olive tree in someone’s name. Both the donor and the honoree will receive a beautifully designed certificate. A single olive tree costs $180; three trees are $500; 10 trees are $1,600; 18 trees are $3,000; and 36 trees are $5,000. The names of donors of 36 or more trees will also be permanently recognized on BGU’s Sde Boker campus, home to the University’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research.
The grove is being planted, managed and studied by students at the Blaustein Institutes’ Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies. To learn more about the Seed Desert Research initiative, or to plant an olive tree, click this button.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
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