ni and community members in syrup making as a non-credit , extra-curricular activity . This proves what we all know about sugaring ; that making maple syrup can be fun . If you get students showing up and working hard , on their own time , without awarding course credit , it must be fun . For students accustomed to spending their time in a classroom , being outdoors and in the woods in the spring is fun . They relish the camaraderie of time in the sugarhouse , the sense of accomplishment at the end of a long day , and the sweet maple taste of the product produced . Most university and college extra-curricular sugaring opportunities are associated with a university farm or nature center .
Courses on sugaring or that use maple as a focus In addition to the non-credit syrup making activities , several academic institutions have developed courses with maple as the focus . In all cases students participate in a class project where they make maple syrup . However , the technical process of syrup making is not an end in itself , but serves as a jumping off point to engage students in activities and thinking of a broader nature . Take a look at some of these courses , and see if you are ready to sign up .
Dr . Jamie Schuler at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown offers a Forestry Department course titled : Sugarbush Management and Maple Syrup Production . With 250 trees tapped , his course gives students the practical experience of making maple syrup , and much more . By combining forest management with syrup making , Schuler ’ s students get an applied knowledge of tree biology along with the physical science and
Colleges and Universities with Maple Syrup Programs
College or University Location Focus Taps Alfred University Alfred , NY C 30-60 Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Sem . Elkhart , IN EX 12 Antioch College Yellow Springs , OH EX 80 Calvin College Grand Rapids , MI EX 60 Colby- Sawyer College New London , NH C , IP 150 Cornell Univ .: Arnot Forest Ithaca , NY R 4,700 Cornell Univ .: Uihlein Field Station Lake Placid , NY R 6,000 Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park , NY C , IP 20-25 Dartmouth College Hanover , NH EX 100 Franklin Pierce University Rindge , NH IP 30-40 Hampshire College Amherst , MA EX 100 Ithaca College Ithaca , NY C 100 Juniata College Huntington , PA EX 400 Keystone College La Plume , PA EX 275 Michigan Tech Houghton , MI C 250 Paul Smith ’ s College Paul Smiths , NY C , M 2,300 Principia College Elsah , Il C , IP 250 Smith College Northampton , MA EX 50 Sterling College Craftsbury Common , VT IP 200 SUNY / ESF Syracuse , NY EX 3,000 University of Connecticut Storrs , CT EX 100 University of Minnesota Arboretum Duluth , MN EX 425 University of Vermont : Procter Center Underhill , VT R 5,000 West Virginia University Morgantown , WV C , R 250 Williams College Williamston , MA EX 130 University of Virginia at Wise Wise , VA C , R 100
R = Research ; EX = Extra-curricular activity ; C = Course ; IP = Interdisciplinary program ; M = Academic minor
16 U . S . Maple Syrup Almanac 2017