On the tail end of another maple syrup season, some producers in southern New Brunswick are ready to chalk it up as a sweet success.
At Elmhurst Outdoors, a small site near Kingston, N.B., Mother Nature has provided the right mix of warm days and cool nights to keep the taps flowing.
“It’s been great, we started out with a booming run, which we’re still boiling now, and by the looks of the weather, we’re going to have some really good runs in the future as well, so I think we’re looking into a good season,” said Gig Keirstead, who co-owns the property with his wife Denise Howlett.
Keirstead and Howlett, former teachers, have owned Elmhurst Outdoors for decades, using their sugar bush to teach students and provide tours to the public.
“We’re a small, very small producer in the scheme of things, but our take on it has always been the interpretive part,” said Howlett.
While small in production size — they produce between 30 and 40 gallons a year — Elmhurst remains a part of the substantial maple syrup industry across New Brunswick.
In 2022, according to Statistics Canada, New Brunswick producers tapped their way to 810.9,000 gallons of maple syrup.
Canadian maple producers harvested a record 17.4 million gallons in 2022, an increase of 53.8 per cent from 2021.
Historically, many of New Brunswick’s producers have been located in northern regions of the province. In recent years, Keirstead said, there’s been a growth of small sugar bushes in his region.
“Probably a dozen or so in the last 10 years or so, that we know of, and there could be a lot more,” Keirstead noted.
Despite the positive growth, Keirstead and Howlett remain focused on how their work continues to educate the public and particularly students.
“It’s just a connection with the natural world. Kids don’t have that anymore, so it’s really important we give them the opportunity to at least get a taste of that,” Keirstead added.
In past, Howlett noted they may have to reach out to schools to setup tours, but this year, they have had to turn down multiple trips.
“They just love to run and, you know, have a great time being outside, but at the same time they seem to have a great interest in the maple production specifically,” Howlett said.