In Argentina, a family rescued 5,000 ancient olive trees from development and built a sanctuary instead of letting them become firewood

In Mendoza, Argentina, centuries-old olive trees are facing an unlikely threat, urban expansion.

As former agricultural land is transformed for housing, commercial projects and other developments, many ancient trees are being cut down and sold as firewood.

The Cicero family decided that some of them deserved a different fate.

Over the past decade, the family has relocated more than 5,000 ancient olive trees, creating the Los Inmigrantes Sanctuary in Maipú.

The project began with 3,000 trees growing on a property Emilio Cicero purchased for his almond business.