Most of Canada’s maple syrup is harvested in the east, however, there are a few people in B.C. that tap trees themselves to create distinctive B.C. maple syrup.
A popular destination for school field trips is Maple Roch in Summerland, which welcomes curious kids on a sugar high to find out how this year’s harvest from trees throughout the community is going.
“We’re doing extremely well. I think we’re going to be at about 2,000 litres of sap this year,” said Roch Fortin, Maple Roch owner.
“But, that doesn’t mean we’ll have that much maple syrup. We have a really old burner and we’re doing it the old-fashioned way.”
More than 30 homeschooled children got to see the entire process — from the boiling of sap, to tasting the finished product.
“We work with a lot of maple artisans that come up with these wonderful products that they create and we sell, that help them build their businesses.”
The tour finishes with making maple syrup taffy in the snow, and the kids get to roll it themselves onto a popsicle stick.
In all, it’s a day of learning for these students about a pure Canadian tradition.