For the second year in a row, students get hands-on experience tapping maple trees and the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) with science teacher Peter Stenross. During the 2025 and 2026 school year, students take trees and collect the sap, and Stenross refines it off-site.
Many students struggle in the age of digital learning as they learn better hands-on. Stenross, along with many teachers, tries to bridge the gap with in-class labs and interactive worksheets. But by tapping and collecting, students put themselves into the role, truly helping them learn about both biology and real-world problems.
Sophomore Logan Kabula said that it is a great opportunity to learn about the biology of ecosystems and the tree within. He also stated that it was a good way to learn about the history of sap collecting.
Tree tapping is a very specific art and relies heavily on the climate and overnight temperature. This makes each tapping season vary from year to year. This, in turn, makes it harder to schedule a club. But Stenross makes this work by communicating with students.
“It has to be above freezing during the day and freezing at night.” This happens in early spring and can vary year to year. “That works as a pump to produce the sap,” Kabula said.
Tapping trees offers both students and teachers a chance to experiment and learn new things. Many variables can affect the sugar content, and in turn, the taste of the syrup. For example, overnight temperature, any injuries the tree might have experienced, and most importantly, the tree’s species.
“Red maple generally has two to 3% sugar. Silver maples are right around that, too. And then your sugar maples are up to four or five. And so in terms of the taste, I wanted to do a comparison,” Stenross said.
Tree tapping is a big sustainability game as many try to get the most out of each tree by tapping multiple holes and making them far too large. Stenross took the opposite approach and used this as a lesson on sustainability for his students.
“We’re tapping with 516-inch holes, which is almost as small as you can really get for tapping, and that does minimal damage to the tree. They have more than enough SAP, and we only do one tap per tree, even though some of the trees could probably warrant two taps,” Stenross said.
Tree tapping is also a great way to meet new outdoorsy and like-minded people. Many online groups are dedicated to helping interested individuals get started collecting sap. Similarly, many local groups and even neighbors more often than not would love to help and get more people into tapping. This creates a new avenue to connect and grow.
The best way to start making syrup trees is to ask someone who already taps trees and see if you can tag along, as it can become a new social adventure. “Then, if you have the trees, start your own. Respect the trees and be thankful to Mother Earth, who is always giving to us humans,” community member Wendy Ward said.
Through maple tapping, students are not only learning science from textbooks; they are actively practicing real-life scenarios. By understanding tree biology, experimenting with sap and sugar content and practicing sustainable methods, they gain skills that can extend beyond the classroom. As Stenross demonstrates, teachers can make learning fun, interactive and sweet.
