Sweet syrup project seeks more citizen tree tappers in Guelph

If you have a maple tree in your yard, a Guelph group wants you to tap it. The best part?You'll get maple syrup out of the deal.

"I think people like the idea of making their own maple syrup from a tree in their backyard," said John Dennis, the co-ordinator of the urban sugaring project.

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This is the second year Transition Guelph is running its urban sugaring project. Last year, they had hoped for 50 trees and ended up boiling down sap from 71 trees.

In total, 1,200 litres of sap was turned into 30 litres of amber liquid, boiled down over an open fire so there's a hint of smokiness in the maple syrup.

Each participant got a minimum 250 mL of syrup last year, then the additional syrup was doled out based on how much sap the people brought in.

Maple syrup festival planned

Last year, the project partnered with students at John McCrae Public School to tap trees on the property and the students and volunteers enjoyed a pancake breakfast with the fruits of their labour.

Dennis said this year, they're hoping to host a maple syrup festival in April at the school to show off their work and distribute the syrup.

People interested in taking part this year are encouraged to attend a free pancake breakfast complete with maple syrup from last year's batch Saturday morning at St. James the Apostle Church at 86 Glasgow St. N., in Guelph.