108Q - Field Biology Class

The Science and Art of Maple Sugaring

Keystone College is very fortunate to have its own small maple sugaring operation.  This includes a sugar shack with a hobby-sized evaporator, and of course a sugarbush, where we have approximately 275 taps deployed.  This page is intended for use by students in the BIO 108Q class; however, if you stumbled across this page and are interested in experiencing maple sugaring, please stop by when we are sugaring.  This is noted in the top right section of this page.

Maple sugaring is truly one of natures greatest rewards.  After long hard winters, the days begin to lengthen, the temperature rises above freezing during the day, and wow, before you know it, it is maple sugaring time.  Sugaring usually begins around mid-February and ends sometime in March.  If your lucky, you may have a six-week season, but usually it is more in the realm of about three to four weeks.  For the sap to flow in the trees there must be a fluctuation in temperature with night-time temperatures below freezing and day-time temperatures above.  If the temperature falls below freezing, the sap stops flowing, and if the temperature rises too much above freezing, the sap will also stop flowing, sometimes for the rest of the season.

This is an industry that is very much tied to the weather; it can make or break you if you rely on sugaring as a supplement to your income.  The sugaring industry has a long tradition in the northeast U.S. and southern Canada, and in fact, its one of the only industries we can claim to be truly American.  Let's see China try to take this one away from us.

Intrigued?  Well I hope so.  Please read on and learn the information on the following links to help you prepare for the status of "sugar maker," and oh yeah, to get a good grade in the class.

Maple Sugaring Resources

• Keystone College Maple Sugaring Video
• Maple Syrup Production for the Beginner (PDF)
• Penn State Extension Maple Syrup Pages
• Cornell Sugar Maple Research & Extension Program

Trees you should be able to identify in the forest:

• You should be able to identify the following trees as they are all species encountered in Keystone College's sugar bush:
  • Sugar maple - Acer saccharum
  • Red maple - Acer rubrum
  • White ash - Fraxinus americana
  • Eastern hemlock - Tsuga canadensis
  • Black cherry - Prunus serotina
  • American beech - Fagus grandifolia
  • American basswood/linden - Tilia americana

Other Resources

Keystone College Maple Sugaring Video

• Keystone College Forest Stewardship Virtual Field Trip - Maple sugaring station
• Massachusetts Maple Producers Association
• A Sugarbush Tale - A student film documentary about one man's hobby of making maple syrup in Vermont.