Collecting sap and boiling it down to sweet, amber syrup is a rite of spring in Vermont. Since moving to our 39-acre farmstead, we've been able to tap into the maple trees on our property to produce Laraway's very own maple syrup.
Laraway School students learned about the science behind the maple sugaring process. Fifty-two tree taps were readied, waiting for optimal conditions for sap to flow: warm days and cool nights. Buckets filled with sap.
An outdoor wood fire served as the hearth for transformation from sap to sweet maple syrup. Students and staff fed the fire and supervised the steaming cauldron sending wafts of maple-infused steam into the air.
What's the yield been so far? A whopping four gallons...and counting! It takes a lot of sap to cook up just one gallon of maple syrup. What's the SWEETEST part of the deal? Laraway is serving our maple syrup in the school cafeteria.
Think sunshine. Think spring. Think students learning and doing science in hands-on, tangible and tasty ways. Think Laraway maple syrup!
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