TTF hosted its seventh annual Maple Sugaring event in Tacony Creek Park last Saturday, March 26 at the I Street & Ramona Avenue gateway in Juniata Park.
A special thanks to the Penn Master of Environmental Studies and Master in Applied GeoSciences students who volunteered to manage the Maple Sugaring stations!
Families, community members, children and people of all ages attended this educational and seasonal event in the park. At the first station along the trail, attendees learned about the Native American myths and legends about how maple sugaring started.
Moving along to the next station, our volunteers showed everyone how to “tap” or “drill” into a tree log to access the sap.
One of the most interesting stations demonstrated to the attendees how sap is boiled into syrup; but, there’s a catch! The sap has to reach a high temperature, starting at 212 degrees Fahrenheit to boil. Then, the sap boils and is ready to be turned into syrup once it reaches 219 degrees Fahrenheit and the clear watery sap turns brown!
Did you know: 2% to 4% of sap is sugar, and a whopping 96% to 98% of sap is water?! Boiling the sap creates an oxidation process for the sugar, in which the sugar then caramelizes.
Once the sap is made into syrup, 65% of it is water and 35% is sugar. How many gallons of sap does it take to make one gallon of syrup? FORTY gallons!
The next station was “How the Tree Works” which educated attendees on the science behind maple leaves and their five layers!
Participants enjoyed a delicious waffle with syrup at the last station to fulfill the Maple Sugaring experience!
The TTF team hopes to see you at our April Earth Month events! There are many weekly Wednesday cleanups coming up, along with a Second Saturday Cleanup in Tacony Creek Park on April 9.
Earth Day Weekend is packed full of fun activities like our annual Spring BioBlitz from April 23 until May 2! Join us on April 23 for Celebrate Trails Day, a BioBlitz walk, and a Cleanup in Tacony Creek Park. Join us on April 24 at the Tookany Creek Trail Fest, hosted by Sustainable Cheltenham & Friends of Tookany Creek Trail.
We hope to celebrate Earth Month with you across our watershed!
