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