Urban sugaring project expands to Kitchener and Waterloo
Sap from trees in Waterloo, Kitchener and Guelph will be combined into one maple syrup
Guelph has seen the sweet success of an urban sugaring project for two years.
Now, that project is being expanded into Waterloo and Kitchener.
John Dennis leads the project under Transition Guelph. Last year, he applied to the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival for a grant to expand the program.
"We had a couple people who were driving from Waterloo into Guelph to give us their sap," he said.
Now, they'll pair up with Transition Waterloo to rent out kits to people who have maple trees on their properties in Kitchener and Waterloo.
Dennis lets people know when it's time to tap the trees and then all the syrup is collected into one batch to be boiled down.
All the sap will be combined into one batch of maple syrup, which will then be distributed. How much syrup you get back depends on how much sap you put into the project.
Dedicated kits for K-W residents
They have 120 kits this year and Dennis said at least 20 will be dedicated to residents from Waterloo and there will be 25 for Kitchener. The kits include everything needed to tap a tree.
They will be sold for $10 each at a pancake breakfast Saturday morning at the Churches of Saint Matthias & St. James the Apostle in Guelph.
As well, Dennis will be at Together We're Bitter brewery in Kitchener on Feb. 10 to sell kits.
The group will again tap the trees at John McCrae Public School to teach students about the process and there will be an end of year festival, Syrup in the City, on March 24.
Dennis said he's heard feedback from past participants and people like the project because it's fun and there's a reward at the end.
"They can look at [the maple syrup] and they can say, 'Hey, that's the tree and from that tree I ended up with this thing that I'm not putting on my pancakes or waffles' or however they're going to use their maple syrup," Dennis said.