shared information and answered questions about: how many trees were tapped, how much sap they produce, the length of the sap season in NJ and how long it takes for sap to become syrup.

The team explained that the buckets will collect sap until the trees bloom - usually early to mid-March - then the taps will be removed so the trees can heal and use that nutritional sap for photosynthesis and new tree growth. We discussed how boiling in our evaporator is very weather dependent. We don't have a sugar shack so it's difficult to control environmental changes like high winds, rain and snow which made it impossible to boil every day when the sap was flowing. We also showed the scouts how we keep our sap from getting warm between boils in our holding tank. At the end of the presentation we were able to give everyone a taste of the yummy syrup that we drew off the day before. Merchantville's Maple Project - a Hub of The Stockton Maple Project - appreciates BSA Pack 252's interest in in coming to see and learn about maple sugaring. We hope toi see them next year!