There aren’t too many college campuses that feature a working maple syrup operation.
The fact that Saint John’s University does provides CSB and SJU students in the introductory biology sequence of classes a unique opportunity to go behind-the-scenes and see how the sap gets tapped.
Each March for well over a decade now, as part of the second class in the intro series, students take part in a lab experience in which they hike to the building in the Saint John’s Arboretum – known as the Sugar Shack – where Saint John’s Maple Syrup is produced by tapping nearby sugar maple trees.
There, they hear from Saint John’s Outdoor University employees who run the facility about how the syrup comes to be before getting the chance to try their hands at tapping a tree themselves.
“It’s a really cool thing,” said CSB first-year student Yenifer Baca, a biology major on a pre-dental track who made the trek with her class this past Thursday (March 13) afternoon. “I’m from Washington, D.C., and we don’t get to appreciate nature as much as I’d like to. So it’s great to be here where you really get a chance to be out in nature and see how it can be used to produce things we consume.
“I love maple syrup so it’s really exciting to see everything that goes into making it.”
Baca’s class was one of 10 groups that made the trek this past week. The class focuses on the impact Roundup Herbicide has on the environment, but biology professor Bill Lamberts said the maple syrup lab provides a nice change-of-pace.
“It’s a chance to get students outside and into nature when the weather is nice,” he said. “It’s such a unique thing that we’ve been producing syrup on this campus since 1942 (a partnership between SJU and the Saint John’s Abbey).
“This is a nice way for the students to see first-hand the way the university and the abbey are making efforts to take care of the land around us and use it wisely.”
Each year, the group that shows the most enthusiasm during their time at the Sugar Shack is awarded the Maple Spirit Award.
“This comes at the perfect time in the semester,” said Carol Jansky, the biology department’s laboratory coordinator. “I think the students have a lot of fun. They get to taste the syrup and see how it’s produced. I think it really lifts their spirits.”
Joey Reiner, a first-year psychology major at SJU who was also part of the class that made the trek Thursday afternoon, seconded that assessment.
“One of the big reasons I came to Saint John’s is that there aren’t many places with 3,000 acres of essentially untouched land like we have here,” he said. “The environment and the opportunities that provides us with are so unique.”
“I came away with a much deeper appreciation for all the natural resources we have on this campus,” added SJU first-year biology major Riley Yerks, whose class visited the Sugar Shack Tuesday (March 11).
“I knew the maple syrup operation existed. But I didn’t know about all the different parts that went into it. It was fascinating to see how it works and to have the chance to take part in it.”
