Chilly maple sugar tour

Even though this past winter was warmer than
most, a cold spell kept the sap from running at
the annual spring maple sugar tour at Birch
Cove on March 28.
"We've been lucky, this is the first year it
hasn't been running," said Karen Clark, community
recreation coordinator for HRM.
According to Andrew Webber, who also
works with HRM, you need to have optimal
conditions to get the sap flowing.
"You need a warm day, a cold night, followed
by another warm day, which we haven't
had the past few days."
This is the 10th year for the tour, which also
includes a partnership between HRM and
Prince Andrew High School. On March 29 the
school's leadership class did the same tour
with local elementary school classes as part of
their curriculum.
Clark said they usually attract about 200
people to the event each year.
The tour takes guests through five stations
of maple syrup history and facts, as well as a
meandering walk through the paths along
Birch Cove.
The stations include history, types of maple
trees, tree tapping, tree tubing, and of course,
maple syrup tasting.
When asked to describe the tour in one
word, Sebastian Kelly, who was at Birch Cove
Sunday with his Beaver colony, said: "tasty."
"I thought it was very informative. Very
hands-on," said his mother Melissa Kelly.
lmckay@hfxnews.ca