+What is Olives to Oil?

Olives to Oil is an annual community festival bringing people together to harvest unused olives from neighbourhood trees. The olives are pressed into oil which is given back to people who help with the harvest. The festival celebrates and highlights the importance of local food in our communities as well as recognising the wonderful heritage of diverse food cultures we enjoy.

+Why harvest olives?

-Because the oil is delicious! -Because communities have harvested olives together for centuries and traditions like these are worth continuing. -Because making the most of local resources helps reduce food waste and leads to a healthier environment and healthier people.

+How do I get involved?

Follow 3000acres on Facebook or via the website for information about the next Olives to Oil festival. If it’s not happening near you, get in touch and let us know you’re interested - we’ll do our best to get you harvesting!

+Where do I find the olives?

Melbourne is full of olive trees and they are often left unharvested. Keep an eye out in your local parks and street verges or use our friendly flier (see the website) to ask a neighbour if they want to share their olives. Keep in mind that trees planted on the nature strip may be well loved and cared for by nearby residents and to avoid upset, you should ask before you pick the fruit.

+What kind of olives can I bring? When are they ripe?

Any olives - table or oil varieties are fine. Just make sure to pick them fresh or the oil may spoil. Optimum ripeness happens when your olives are half green/half black, but we can take them at any stage for the communal pressing.

+How much oil will I get?

When you drop off your olives we will weigh them and you will receive a share of the oil based on your contribution. We won’t know until after the pressing how much oil it will be because this varies between varieties and seasons. Your olives will be processed in one batch along with all the others, so the oil will be a blend of types. We think it tastes delicious.

+I have a grove of olives trees, will you press my olives for free?

This is a community festival and we are unable to press large quantities of private olives. We can let you know about our olive press partners who can organise to press your olives for a reasonable fee.