New Campus Desert Bloom

While the construction of the new campus speeds ahead, early signs of an ambitious landscaping plan are budding as the first trees move to their new home.

AUC’s own Desert Development Center (DDC) is supplying the required plants and putting them into the new campus landscape. The new campus will contain numerous green areas that will include the planting of nearly 150 different species and more than 8,000 trees. The plants throughout the campus will include a mixture of international and native Egyptian species. The 260-acre campus is divided into zones based on function; each zone employs a specific concept for the configuration of the plants, selected to serve a unique purpose.

The most centrally located zone is referred to as the garden. It is in a depression and will be a formal, ornamental garden with pathways and fountains. There will be many of the flowering plants that provide fruit smells, aromas and colors. “We have a high number of citrus trees forming the core of the landscape. These have aromatic flowers and are evergreens that bear fruit yearly,” said Yehia El Alaily, DDC new campus landscape project manager. This is in contrast to the perimeter zone, where the purpose is to create a “shelter belt to screen the campus from the surrounding area and also to serve as a wind breaker,” explained Richard Tutwiler, DDC director.

More than 350 date palms have been planted, and will be seen by visitors approaching the campus, in what will become the AUC Park. “The idea of the park is to provide a connection between the university and the community and at the same time a transition; the concept is an oasis of palms,” said Tutwiler. As the construction progresses, the remaining planting timetable will shadow the buildings as they are completed.

For $1,000, a tree bearing your name can make AUC's new campus greener and provide shade for future generations of AUC students. More on tree naming opportunities on AUC’s new campus.