In Spring we celebrate changes in nature, and when sap starts rising in maple trees _ it’s a first indication that Spring is right around the corner.
Area families gathered at River Trail Nature Center on Sunday, to find out where maple syrup comes from and to experience how trees are tapped and what that means about ecology and the woodlands.
Brian Winters, assistant director and naturalist at the River Trail Nature Center says, learning about the maple sugaring process, is at the center of this beloved event, with over a 50-year history.
“Nothing divides us when we share the universal human experience of loving nature,” Winters said.
In the northern Midwest, according to Winters, the ancient tradition of tapping the trees for maple syrup connects us to the trees directly.
“During the program we honor the genius and success of this Native-American practice of maple tree-tapping and share some of this history and culture,” Winters said.
Sunday’s free program ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and included naturalist hikes into the woods to examine the internal life of trees, demonstrations on drilling and tapping trees, sap collection, and the old-fashioned cooking process of making sap into syrup, in the Center’s sugar shack, a method using an iron caldron for centuries.
Winters says the maple sugaring season lasts 4 to 6 weeks, usually beginning in March and ending with the first buds of April.
“March is an unreliable friend, as the signs of winter still cling to our bones, it leaves people yearning for spring and this event has become a part of that celebration,” Winters said.
Event festivities included; syrup samples with French toast sticks, a storybook trail, Irish dance performances, touch a truck, an instrument petting zoo, interpreter presentations on historic sugaring, beekeeping and honey-making, and the budburst community scientist program, and native gardening.
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Participating community partners included; the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Budburst Program, the University of Illinois Extension’s North Suburban Cook County Master Gardeners, Bach to Rock School of Music in Northbrook, Bee All About It beekeepers and the Dillon-Gavin School of Irish Dance.
Tim Raub of Arlington Heights attended with family.
“Thirty-three years ago on a middle school field trip I experienced the Maple Syrup Festival for the first time and I can still remember the smell of sap from the maple tree, I wanted my kids to experience that,” Raub said.
Marin Humber of Des Plaines also attended.
“We love maple syrup on our pancakes and wanted to see where this sweet treat comes from,” Humber said.
Winters says the Maple Syrup Festival has become an event that people flock to, it brings families closer to the birds, the trees, the flowers and the river.
“We are all yearning for Spring, and this event offers families not only a fun day in nature, but a deeper connection to the land,” Winters said.
Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.