Connect with Nature: Where Does Maple Syrup Come From?
Samantha Nurse, Web and Social Media Coordinator
If you’re lucky enough to live in maple syrup country, it’s the time of year to get ready to visit your favourite sugar bush or cabane à sucre. How does maple syrup connect with nature? Because it comes from trees of course!
So first things first, how is maple syrup made? Well, the weather needs to be just right. In spring when the nights are still cool, water from the soil is absorbed into the maple tree. During the day the warmer temperatures create pressure that pushes the water back down to the bottom of the tree, making it easy to collect maple sap. This is when the trees are tapped and this sweet maple sap collects in buckets placed on the tree. After buckets are filled, they are taken to a sugar house where the sap is boiled down to the maple syrup we love to eat.
A Maple Tree tapped for sap.
This whole process can be seen at your local sugar bush. It is a great way to see how these trees provide so much to us and gives us a better understanding of how our food reaches our table.
Most sugar bush properties run family programming on weekends from mid-February through mid-March, with additional activities planned during the March Break, but make sure to check ahead before you go. For a list of some of the festivals that are taking place across Canada, check them out here. Or, let us know of the local events happening in your area where people can learn about these tasty treats and explore the Maple Tree forests!
With the seasons turning from winter to spring, take the time to get to know a Canadian icon — the maple tree — a bit better.
