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Events, Stories & Tales, Who We Are

The Sweet Magic of Maple Sugaring

March 6, 2025
A child close to a tree, opening their mouth to catch a drop of sap from a maple tree with adults looking on and smiling in the background

-By Jason Samuel

Every year, as winter begins to loosen its grip and the days noticeably lengthen, a special event unfolds in the forests around us. The increased sunshine brings warmer days, and when combined with cold nights, signals the promise of spring to our maple trees. Within their roots and trunks, nature’s sweetest gift awaits.

The Fifth Season

Ed Bieber, the founder of The Nature Place, had a special name for this time of year: the “Fifth Season.” This is the period between the cold, dark winter and the emergence of spring. During the Fifth Season, as the sun climbs higher in the sky and its warmth pushes daytime temperatures above freezing, the nights remain cold. This fluctuation creates the perfect conditions for the maple sap to flow—a wonder of nature that we collect and boil down into syrup and sugar.

Two gentleman in winter attire placing a metal bucket on a maple tree hook to collect sap, while adults and children look on from the foreground, with snow and trees in the background

This was Ed’s favorite season. Maple sugaring was a passion of Ed’s because it is entirely dependent on tuning into nature’s rhythm. Some say it is the alternating temperatures that build pressure inside the maple trees, causing their sap to flow abundantly. We see it as one of nature’s wonders—the fact that a uniquely flavored, nourishing (maple sugar is high in glucose and low in fructose, making it healthier for your digestive system) sweetness flows from the trees at The Nature Place.

7 kids standing in front of the large green nature place backdrop, holding various items for maple sugaring including a bucket, with adults looking on from the foreground

Once a year, in the heart of the Fifth Season, we gather new and old friends at The Nature Place to share the incredible story of maple sugar. For centuries, Indigenous peoples of North America have tapped maple trees to collect and boil the sap, transforming it into sugar. We highlight the process of tapping a tree using a spout, brace & bit, bucket, and hammer. We emphasize just how resource-intensive it is to produce maple syrup—many trees must be tapped, and it takes 40 gallons of sap to create just one gallon of syrup. Since 98% of sap is water, it must be boiled for hours over a fire to concentrate the sugars. And rest assured, tapping trees does not harm or damage them.

An adult dressed in a green nature place pullover using a popsicle stick to clean out detritis from a tree after drilling it to install a maple syup tap, with families looking on and smiling in the background

If you haven’t attended one of our Maple Sugaring programs, I highly recommend it. You’ll experience an up-close connection with nature and even get to taste some “syrup lite.” And the next time you enjoy a stack of pancakes—or a bowl of vanilla ice cream—drenched in real, 100% maple syrup, remember Ed and how special the Fifth Season is for bringing us nature’s sweetest gift.

2 adults and a child smiling at a maple syrup tap, the child has their mouth open to taste some sap as it drips out

Summer Camp at The Nature Place

Here, campers spend 4, 5, or 6 weeks outdoors in a socially nourishing and non-competitive environment. Every experience—whether hiking a trail, wading through a stream, learning to swim, or enjoying a campout—builds confidence, connection, and joy. Our non-rushed schedule gives campers time to slow down, unwind from a busy school year, and have a real summer break.
A Summer of Wonder Awaits

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