MEMBERS ONLY! HOW SWEET IT IS! Road Trip to Great Mountain Forest’s Sugar House
March 4 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Hop in the Conservation Center Van with Education Director, Carrie Szwed and head to Great Mountain Forest in Norfolk to watch maple sugaring in action! For 70 years, Great Mountain Forest has been producing maple syrup. The GMF sap house located near the Forestry Offices in Norfolk, CT produces 75 to 100 gallons of syrup per season from approximately 450 taps. A small number of buckets are still used, but now the majority of the sap is collected from gravity tube-line technology.
Information collected during the sugaring season includes the amount of sap that was collected, its sugar content and the amount of syrup produced. Anecdotal observations such as the first robin or blue bird sighted or what particular species of trees are starting to bud are also noted. Select individual sugar maple trees along the collection route were routinely checked for the sugar content in their sap and the amount of sap collected per tap was measured as the 6-week season progressed.
All these records in conjunction with the daily weather readings from Norfolk 2SW, the National Weather Service weather station operated by Great Mountain Forest, provide interesting observations for present day environmental concerns.
10:00 a.m., Meet in the Museum Parking lot near the van. MEMBERS ONLY: $10.00, Seating is limited to 14 guests! Please pre-register: GMF Maple Sugaring Road Trip Registration
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Hop in the Conservation Center Van with Education Director, Carrie Szwed and head to Great Mountain Forest in Norfolk to watch maple sugaring in action! For 70 years, Great Mountain Forest has been producing maple syrup. The GMF sap house located near the Forestry Offices in Norfolk, CT produces 75 to 100 gallons of syrup per season from approximately 450 taps. A small number of buckets are still used, but now the majority of the sap is collected from gravity tube-line technology.
Information collected during the sugaring season includes the amount of sap that was collected, its sugar content and the amount of syrup produced. Anecdotal observations such as the first robin or blue bird sighted or what particular species of trees are starting to bud are also noted. Select individual sugar maple trees along the collection route were routinely checked for the sugar content in their sap and the amount of sap collected per tap was measured as the 6-week season progressed.
All these records in conjunction with the daily weather readings from Norfolk 2SW, the National Weather Service weather station operated by Great Mountain Forest, provide interesting observations for present day environmental concerns.
10:00 a.m., Meet in the Museum Parking lot near the van. MEMBERS ONLY: $10.00, Seating is limited to 14 guests! Please pre-register: GMF Maple Sugaring Road Trip Registration
Details