Whether it's a stack of pancakes or a bowl of ice cream, there's one secret ingredient that can make them taste better than ever ­ your own maple syrup! Indeed, when the days become longer and winter starts to fade, the sugar maple provides a bounty of sweetness good for months of enjoyment. This workshop introduces the lifetime skill of harvesting and producing maple syrup in your own backyard. We will venture out into a productive maple stand to see an active maple syrup operation and the process, complete with vacuum­assisted tubing collection system, wood­fired evaporator, and more. The class includes an introduction to basic equipment, strategies for harvesting and hauling sap and techniques for boiling down and finishing your harvest! We'll test & taste sap as it moves through the finishing process. By the end of the morning, you'll be bottling up syrup to take home! Want extra syrup? An additional afternoon field session will get you involved in the nitty gritty hands­on tasks of a working commercial sugar bush. Plan on putting your hands to work. This could be running the evaporator, bottling syrup, cleaning operations, or making firewood. Opportunities and projects during the afternoon field session will vary depending upon the weather and where we are in the maple season. We will send you home with more syrup for your efforts.