The Tastiest Sign of Spring

By Kimberly Zewatsky Kalamazoo Nature Center

Early signs of spring in the forest include the flowering of the yellow trout lily, the distinctive ‘peter-peter-peter’ whistle from the tufted titmouse bird, and, if you step deep in the forest, you just might see sap collection buckets or bags hanging from sugar maple trees.

The sugar maple, (Acer saccharum) is the major source of sap for making maple syrup. The tree can be found from regions ranging from northern Ontario to southern Tennessee, and Minnesota to Vermont. But, only about 10 states, Michigan included, have significant production capabilities with Vermont being the maple syrup king.

The process of gathering enough sap to produce syrup is labor intensive and tedious. Although, maple species such as the red, silver and Norway maple can be tapped, their sugar content is not as high as the sugar maple. The ideal time for tapping all begins when the temperature rises above freezing during the day and falls below freezing at night. These conditions trigger the sap to begin to flow up the tree. When the holes are drilled into mature trees, spouts are inserted into the trunks and bags, or buckets hang below to begin to collect the sap. All the containers filled with sap are then boiled, the water evaporates and what’s left is the concentrated syrup. A healthy tree can produce a gallon of sap a day. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. The process can render a variety of hues concentrations and tastes.

The origins of maple sugaring, (the practice of making maple syrup from sap) are steeped in tradition. Europeans first learned the practice from Native peoples and Indigenous tribes. It’s unclear what tribe first discovered maple sugaring; however, it is known that native peoples collected sap in hollowed out logs. Maple wood was also used to make tools and furniture, and its bark was used as medicine.

The tradition of maple sugaring has been celebrated by the Kalamazoo Nature Center for close to 60 years. This year, the annual Maple Sugar Festival will be held on Saturday, March 11, 9am-5pm.

While the practice has been going strong at KNC for over a half a century, sadly there may not be a Maple Sugar Festival exactly as we know it two or more generations from now. Research indicates climate change is a real threat to the future of healthy forests, in particular KNC’s sugar bush area, a beech-maple forest filled primarily with maple trees. Forest restoration began in that area several years ago after the emerald ash borer, a deadly invasive insect, wreaked havoc killing most of the ash trees. This left an enormous number of dead trees and holes in the forest’s canopy making room for even other invasive species.

If that clean-up wasn’t enough, the KNC land management team is charged with the further task of combating the insidious elements of climate change.

“We expect it to be warmer here in Michigan in future generations because of climate change, “said Jessica Simons, Vice President of Conservation Stewardship at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.

What if, in the worst-case scenario, sugar maples die off because of climate change? In an effort to prevent that from happening, the strategy includes genetic diversity by bringing in sugar maple trees from a region a little further south of Kalamazoo. “We sought trees from Indianapolis thinking that the particular genes of those trees may actually be better adapted for the future warmer conditions in Michigan.”

Simons added, ‘It’s been a fun experiment. We don’t have the perfect model. We are doing our best with hopes that in one to two generations into the future, people at the (Kalamazoo) Nature Center will benefit from choices we made now.”

Sugar bush restoration continues this fall. Volunteers are always welcomed. Simons enthusiastically concludes, “Get out and get your hands in the dirt. It feels really good to plant trees”.

Visit

By Steve Ellis

A few weeks ago, I headed up to Grand Ledge to visit my Uncle John, my dad’s older brother who is 93.

After spending many years taking I-69, when heading northeast across the state to the Waterford area to visit my family, I decided to to head north on M-66 out of Battle Creek.