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BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - Trees provide a sweetener in late winter, but only if a person knows how to turn tree sap into syrup. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering a free program teaching maple sugaring and tree tapping on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 1:30 – 3 p.m. at Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center in Blue Springs.
When warm days follow cold days in late winter, trees begin drawing sap upward into the limbs. Tapping this sap for syrup is a traditional way of using a forest resource for food. MDC staff will demonstrate and discuss the equipment and techniques for making syrup. Participants will be able to observe the process and try their hand at creating syrup from sap.
This workshop is free and open to participants of all ages. Registration is required. Register at https://mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/Event/EventDetails/206058. Participants should dress for the weather, as tree tapping is done outdoors.
In our culture of a supermarket in every neighborhood, it is almost magical to be able to make something delicious to eat directly from nature. Syrup can be made from many tree species, but maple is a favorite because the sap contains more sugar and requires less sap to boil into syrup. Savor this wonder by learning how to tap trees, collect sap, and make delicious syrup from native trees.
Direct questions to MDC Naturalist Lisa Richter at lisa.richter@mdc.mo.gov. Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center is located at 1401 NW Park Rd in Blue Springs.
