Jaymie McGrath loves family fun and won’t let her family miss the maple syruping demonstrations at Indian Creek Nature Center’s Maple Syrup Festival.
“We do it with our girls.” Jaymie said, ”They have carried the jugs on their shoulders and tapped a tree. They thought it was really fun to learn all about maple syrup making.”
Maple syruping demonstrations include hands-on activities for the whole family that make learning about the connection between nature and the food on our plates fun and engaging, even for adults.
While the kids have fun tapping a maple tree, the adults learn the history, science and art of maple syrup making and how it has evolved with new technologies. “It’s educating in a fun way. We’ve come before with my kids and I love learning about how the syrup was originally found and what they did to make it in this era and that era and what we do today. I think it really all ties together in a lot of ways,” said Jaymie.
Families can even slip into the Sugar House to see this year’s batch of syrup as it’s being made. Bringing the magic of nature’s sweetest gift to life begins each winter when volunteers gather at the Nature Center’s Barn to begin tapping maple trees.
Volunteers placed more than 125 taps across the Nature Center’s grounds in mid-February. Just a week or so later, the weather warmed and sap started flowing. As the sap collection bags fill, staff and volunteers take the sap to the Sugar House, where trained volunteers begin the slow and delicate process of boiling it down to delicious maple syrup.
It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Boiling down the hundreds of gallons collected each year takes time — which is great, because it means guests can see the syrup being made right in front of their eyes at syruping programs throughout March.
Seeing firsthand how syrup is made may be Jaymie’s favorite part of the syruping demonstrations. “It’s really cool for kids, and even for adults, to realize syrup doesn’t just show up in a bottle.”
Jaymie McGrath, Talent Development Director at McGrath Auto, shared that it was the educational programming and family-friendly nature of the Maple Syrup Festival that inspired McGrath Auto to become an event sponsor.
“We’re a fourth generation family business, and families are really important to us. The Maple Syrup Festival brings families together and builds community. It’s a big community event, big family event, and it’s always a good time.”
The event sponsorship was chosen by an employee-led committee that heads their McGrath Cares program, which supports causes and events that impact the community in positive ways, and connects employees and their families with volunteer opportunities.
“We have set goals to be more intentional with the organizations we are donating to and connecting our employees to them. We have worked to create a better way to share opportunities with our team to show them what is going on in our community, how we are helping as a company, and how they can join in.”
McGrath employees have volunteered at the festival in the past, and Jaymie expects McGrath Auto to continue tapping into volunteer opportunities at Indian Creek Nature Center. “We want to connect on another level. Volunteering and spending some time here. When that happens, it builds a natural connection.”
Volunteers play a large role in the Festival, from leading maple syruping demonstrations that show where syrup comes from to serving the pancakes guests will cover in real maple syrup.
Understanding that the delicious maple syrup on your breakfast is actually a gift from nature might even make the pancakes taste a little bit better.
“It’s fun to know how it’s created and all the work that goes into making it,” said Jaymie. “Then pouring it on your pancake makes it even better. And who doesn’t love good pancakes?”