Olive Grove Initiative — Barnsdall Art Park Foundation

Barnsdall Olive Grove Initiative

Barnsdall Olive Grove, 2021. Image courtesy of Katherine Pakradouni.

Barnsdall Art Park is a unique and priceless gem in the City of Los Angeles, and this Olive Grove Initiative is yet another reminder as to why. Preserving the existing trees and propagating new, healthy olive trees into the campus's landscape is an essential step in preserving this historically significant grove that is an essential contributor to this cultural resource we all cherish, Barnsdall Art Park, and UNESCO contributor, Hollyhock House. — Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell, City of Los Angeles 13th District

The Barnsdall Art Park Foundation has partnered with the Los Angeles Parks Foundation and the City of Los Angeles to revitalize Barnsdall Art Park’s historic olive grove, which was established in the 1890s.

In 2021, the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation contributed $25,000 to the Los Angeles Parks Foundation’s Adopt-a-Park program. That grant funded the following completed initiatives:

horticultural survey and forensic analysis of the olive grove
repair and improvement of the grove’s irrigation system
careful pruning of 400 olive trees
grinding and removal of 20 existing olive tree stumps
development of a comprehensive strategy for planting additional olive trees at the park

Barnsdall Art Park is a vital breathing pore for the densely built East Hollywood area. The revitalized and expanded olive grove will improve the local environment, support the region’s wildlife ecosystem, and enhance a beloved landscape that is crucial to the health and wellbeing of the community. Adding new fruiting olive trees within the 130-year-old grove will also contribute to the City of Los Angeles's goal to plant 90,000 new trees as part of L.A.'s Green New Deal.

Please click on the following buttons to learn how you can support the Barnsdall Olive Grove Initiative.

Barnsdall olive wood workshop

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The revitalized trees after the successful Barnsdall Olive Grove Pruning Project, June 2021. Image courtesy of Brady Walters.

The Department of Recreation and Parks is extremely grateful for the partnership we have with the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation and the Los Angeles Parks Foundation. We appreciate their commitment to ensuring that the Barnsdall Park historic olive grove continues to be a healthy landscape of olive trees that the East Hollywood community, visitors, and generations to come can enjoy. — Mike Shull, General Manager, City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

The Mariposa Landscapes Team at work, Barnsdall Olive Grove Pruning Project, June 2021. Image courtesy of Christopher James Alexander.

The Mariposa Landscapes Team assessing the condition of the trees, Barnsdall Olive Grove Pruning Project, June 2021. Image courtesy of Katherine Pakradouni.

Barnsdall Olive Grove Pruning Project, June 2021. Image courtesy of Christopher James Alexander.

The Los Angeles Parks Foundation is committed to restoring our city’s urban forest through tree-plantings and restoration projects. We are honored to work with the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation and the City of Los Angeles at this significant historic site and beloved community park. — Carolyn Ramsay, Executive Director, Los Angeles Parks Foundation

history of the barnsdall olive grove

BARNSDALL OLIVE GROVE INITIATIVE PRESS RELEASE

PUBLISHED ARTICLES about the barnsdall olive grove initiative

Olive Grove assessment, 2021. Image courtesy of Katherine Pakradouni.

Soil and root collection, 2021. Image courtesy of Katherine Pakradouni.

Stem sample collection, 2021. Image courtesy of Katherine Pakradouni.

During her detailed analysis of the condition and health of the site, Katherine Pakradouni, Los Angeles Parks Foundation Project Manager and Horticulturist, discovered that 46 olive trees are from the original grove established in the 1890s. Those historic fruiting trees produced 58 seedlings that were growing near the older tree canopies.

Barnsdall olive trees dating from the 1890s. Image courtesy of Katherine Pakradouni.

Olive pits from trees planted in the 1890s. Image courtesy of Katherine Pakradouni.

Seedlings from olive trees planted in the 1890s. Image courtesy of Katherine Pakradouni.

Katherine transferred many of those special seedlings to the Los Angeles Parks Foundation headquarters at the historic Commonwealth Nursery in Griffith Park and she is nurturing them into saplings that can be replanted at Barnsdall Art Park and other locations throughout the city.

Please support the revitalization and expansion of the Barnsdall Olive Grove with an online, tax-deductible donation.

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