It’s maple sugaring time at the Audubon Center!
Tapping Day 2018
On the 22nd of February, with help from several volunteers from Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, we hung close to 600 buckets to collect the sweet sap from our maple trees. This time of year, steam can be seen rising from the cupola of our sugarhouse on warm days and the sweet smell of maple hangs in the air. It’s a wonderful time to visit and take in the sights, smells and tastes of the season. View our Tapping Day Photo Album.
Maple Sugaring Field Trips
Over the next six weeks or so, hundreds of schoolchildren will visit Audubon’s sugarbush to learn about the traditional, wood-fired method of boiling sap into syrup. They will also learn about the importance of our sugarbush for breeding birds. We manage our sugarbush not only for maple syrup production, but for baby bird production!
Sugar on Snow Parties
Along with our maple sugaring education programs, the Green Mountain Audubon Center hosts community-wide Sugar on Snow parties to celebrate the start to spring and to promote our Bird-Friendly maple sugaring operation. We host these events during Vermont’s Maple Open House Weekend, a state-wide event that promotes maple sugaring and encourages people to visit Vermont sugarhouses to learn about the wonders of maple sugaring.
Mark your calendar and save the dates! Our Sugar on Snow Parties will be held on Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25 from 11am to 4pm. We offer free maple tours to the public and demonstrate the traditional bucket sap collection and wood-fired maple syrup boiling techniques that are becoming more and more rare in our state.
Golden Tap and SOS Raffle
We have hidden a golden tap that we hope you find as you explore the sugarbush! The first 50 people to find the golden tap during our Sugar on Snow Parties will receive a delicious chocolate prize from Lake Champlain Chocolates! This year we will also have raffle tickets for sale to win amazing prizes: $100 LL Bean gift cards, a LL Bean Woman’s Snowshoe package, a delicious maple syrup gift package from Runamok Maple, and a gallon of Audubon’s own maple syrup.
Audubon’s Sugar on Snow parties have been a tradition in Huntington for more than 40 years and have become a beloved tradition for people of all ages and backgrounds. Don’t miss them!
Volunteer at Sugar on Snow
Our Sugar on Snow Parties will host close to 1,000 guests on our property who will enjoy light refreshments, hot drinks and tasty maple syrup boiled on site. More than 30 people will volunteer their time to help run the events by helping us to serve food, sell maple syrup, direct people to park and even give maple syrup taste tests! These events engage our community at many levels and raise funds to support our sustainable maple sugaring operation, as well as our year-round environmental education programs for people of all ages. Please consider volunteering at our Sugar on Snow Parties. Follow this link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084cafaf2ca7fb6-volunteer​
For more information about Sugar on Snow Parties follow this link: http://vt.audubon.org/events/sugar-snow-party-0
