How sweet it is, as Somerville kids get an opportunity to learn nature’s ways and have a lot of fun at the same time. – Photo by Anna Linck.

Local maple syrup festival this Saturday

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Somerville second graders are gearing up for a truly sappy experience.

Since January they’ve been learning about all things maple. Now, this year’s Maple Syrup Project is about to reach its steamy conclusion as 240 gallons of sap get boiled down at the Community Growing Center this weekend. And the public is welcome to join in the fun.

“It’s a finale… a great way to cap off the experience in a really visual, hands-on way,” said Tai Dinnan of Groundwork Somerville, the local non-profit that runs the project every year in conjunction with Somerville public schools, the Friends of the Community Growing Center, Tufts University and a team of community volunteers.

The main event at the Growing Center this weekend will be the transformation of all that sap into about five gallons of Somerville’s finest locally tapped and locally-produced maple syrup. But the annual (and free) Maple Syrup Boil Down Festival this Saturday will also offer up plenty of hands-on, fun activities and entertainment, including live music by local family-friendly band Animal Farm.

This year’s project kicked off in mid-January when several dozen volunteers of all ages gathered to tap 10 sugar maple trees on the Tufts University Campus. Sap starts running when temperatures reach above freezing during the day, while still dropping below freezing at night, and Dinnan said trees were tapped nearly two weeks earlier than usual this year because of the unseasonably warm weather.

The annual Somerville Maple Syrup project introduces every public school second grader in the city to a traditional part of the environment and economy of New England, with a curriculum that combines science, math, social studies and reading. In weekly indoor and outdoor classes, students learn about the changing seasons, the anatomy of trees, and the legends, history and process of syrup making.

The project also promotes healthier lifestyles, by getting kids outside learning about the environment at a time of year when they’re usually inside. And it’s one more way to connect kids with food at the source, encouraging them to eat locally grown food. Dinnan said kids are more interested in eating vegetables when they grow them in their school gardens, “but it’s even easier when it’s maple syrup, because everyone loves maple syrup.”

Second graders who visit the Boil Down on field trips this Friday will get a chance to put their “kids’ seal of approval” on made-in-Somerville syrup. But anyone is invited to come out on Saturday to savor the sweet taste of something truly homegrown. Waffles, syrup, hot drinks and other items will be for sale at the festival, which will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 3, at the Community Growing Center at 22 Vinal Avenue.

And for anyone who still can’t get enough of the stuff, Somerville maple syrup will be on sale throughout the year at Sherman’s Market in Union Square, and at the Union Square Farmers Market.