By Harry Kane

The flow of sap from maple trees at Tufts University was the center of attention for at least 25 kids and as many as 30 adults on Jan. 28.

Twenty buckets of sap were procured from drilling 1 1/2- 2″ deep holes into the trunks of some ten or so maple trees.

It was Meghan Bouchard’s first maple syrup tapping event; she brought her two kids to the event. “There seemed to be a good turnout: parents, babysitters and children, community members, and I even recognized some Tufts Education staff members,” said Bouchard.

Kids participated in measuring the circumference of the maple trees to determine how many times the tree could be tapped, they helped drill the two inch holes in the trees, and hammer in the spiles (taps) and hang the buckets. “By the end of the event they were tree-tapping experts, said Bouchard.

“This year’s season is much earlier than usual, so we are not sure how long the sap will run,” said Tai Dinnan the gardens coordinator for Groundwork Somerville.

“This year there was no snow cover and we had to tap in January because the days have been warm and nights have been cool, perfect for maple sap,” said Cador Pricejones.

Sap collector and volunteer coordinator, Hilary Dennis said, “Tai did a great job engaging participants of all ages, especially the kids: sap started flowing immediately after we tapped the first tree (we hardly got the bucket hung fast enough!) and she had the kids dip their fingers into the sap and taste it so they had a sensory understanding of how it’s different from maple syrup.”

The event also involved a simple ecology lesson on how to identify sugar maple trees.

All sap is stored in frozen and refrigerated storage until the Boil Down Festival on March 3 at the Somerville Community Growing Center. The public is then invited back out to see the sap boil down into pure maple syrup!

Keep an eye on Groundwork Somerville’s website, online calendar, Facebook page, or twitter feed to get updates and news about the Somerville Maple Syrup Project. Maple tapping would not be possible without the support of Tufts Buildings and Grounds.

(~Photos by Groundwork Somerville Staff)