Thinking of Spain conjures scenes of scorching sunshine, dry winds, and tough old olive trees that have withstood the environment’s onslaught for at least 100 years.

Once established, ancient tree species such as olives, almonds, and walnut can bring communities shelter, food, and myriad other ecosystem benefits for tens or even hundreds of years to come.

However, ensuring these trees survive the first summer after planting is a real challenge as the weather in Southern Spain is harsh and the soil often degraded. In order to ensure olive, almond, and walnut trees continue to grow into old age, we partnered with the FerCa Agroentorn productive tree farm in Alcover to plant trees native to the region. The fact that all of the trees planted are thriving proves it is possible to establish productive trees without ongoing irrigation, even in notoriously challenging climates like in the south of Spain.