Winter 2011 SKIP - Maple Syrup!

It was a sweet time at Murphys Point on Sunday as we gathered for our last program of the Winter 2011 Super Kids In Parks session.

Volunteer extraordinaire Alida Lemieux (who is an interpreter at Murphys Point in the summer) joined us again and led a great program all about "the sap that binds us." We started off with a hike along the Lally Trail where we used our tree-identification skills from the week before to pick out some sugar maple trees. Alida taught us a trick to identifying the sugar maple leaf - the lobes are "U" shaped (instead of "V" shaped) and the word "sugar" has a "U" in it. She then explained, using a tree volunteer, how the sap in the tree carries nutrients from its roots to its buds, and extra sugar in the sap works as an antifreeze as winter changes to spring - protecting the tree.

At the next stop we learned how many different creatures use the sap produced in maple trees to survive. One of these creatures is a woodpecker called the yellow-bellied sapsucker. It has - you guessed it - a yellowish belly and it likes - you guessed it - to suck the sap out of trees. The holes it makes attract insects, which draw in other creatures, too, forming part of the food chain. We also had the chance to see a hole made by the pilleated woodpecker, which is a much larger bird.

The next stop featured signs that a person had been tapping a tree. It was a single hole, not too deep, but very round - possibly done using a drill.

We then reached Black Creek, where we took a moment to scope out the beaver lodge, muskrat push-ups and various tracks. Alida and Steph had observed an otter on the ice earlier in the afternoon, but it was nowhere to be seen when the group arrived. A couple of big, soaring birds made an appearance in the distance, though!

Alida then showed us how, in theory, one would tap a tree using an old-fashioned wood auger, spiles and sap buckets. We discussed how the lids help to keep things out of the buckets, and how modern syrup operations have different equipment that removes unwanted items from the sap, such as moths and other bugs. Some of our participants are very knowledgeable about maple syrup production!

We then played a game that demonstrated sugar energy transfer by passing sugar around to show how each part of the food chain is affected by sugar maple sap at its start - with birds, insects, cats, fishers and fungus all playing a role. It truly is the sap that binds us!

The last stop on the hike featured a special guest! A visitor from the 1870s talked a bit about how hard families worked to produce maple syrup on family homesteads. She said she had to carry buckets of sap to the big outdoor iron kettle they used to boil the sap. She explained that often they would boil it past the syrup stage and into sugar, which stored more easily and could be sold at markets in Perth. She also told us about a couple of tricks to use when boiling the sap that help to keep it controlled and to remove unwanted particles.

We then made our way back to the drive shed to play some games. The first was a relay. Each team had to carry a small container of "sap" from one bucket to a pot as fast as possible. Emptying the first bucket fastest didn't necessarily mean that team won - there were obstacles to overcome (such as a squirrel in the kettle or horses running out of control and dumping the sap wagon). The team with the most "sap" won!

The second game was a human chain to represent a pipeline for sap collection. The kids were the links in the chain and had to pass a ball hand to hand until they reached the end of the line.

At last it was snack time, which featured dill pickles and crackers to counter the sweetness of taffy on snow (yum!) boiled up by Skipper Jane.

A huge thank you to Alida for travelling all the way back to Murphys Point to lead another great program for us, and to our volunteers Jane Irwin, Pat Batchelor and Stephanie Gray.

We had a terrific time with our SKIP kids this session. Stay tuned for news about the Spring session - to be announced.

Winter 2011 SKIP - Trees and Snowshoeing

Our SKIP organizers put in an order with Mother Nature for a little snow for last Sunday so that we could do our snowshoeing program - and did she ever deliver! (Please note that the organizers are now asking for spring-like weather that is more suitable for this Sunday's maple syrup program....)

This week was another busy session for our SKIP kids. Led by Jeff Ward of the Lanark Stewardship Council and Sarah O'Grady of Mississippi Valley Conservation (which generously loaned us snowshoes), we divided into two groups and switched activities partway through.

One group stayed with Jeff in the drive shed to get some pointers on identifying trees in winter. Naturally, we can often identify deciduous trees by their leaves, so how do we do it in winter? Jeff showed us some tricks pertaining to the shape of a tree's crown, whether branches and buds are alternating or not, the colour of the branches and bark, and the texture of the bark. He had samples of logs and demonstrated the different textures and features of each tree.

The next step was to put this into practice, so we headed down the Lally Trail where Jeff and volunteer Judy Buehler had set up a relay game. Kids had to race each other to retrieve twig samples of various species of trees based on what they had learned. We discovered a bunch of neat things about different species.

Next the kids were given paper and crayons and did bark rubbings that they could take home. Some of the patterns were pretty neat!

While all this was happening, the alternate group was up at the parking lot getting ready for a snowshoeing trek. Sarah explained how various animals, such as hares, are naturally equipped to be able to travel easily over snow - and how some, such as deer, are not. She also discussed the origins of snowshoeing and the different types of shoes that are out there.

Next we strapped on a set of snowshoes and, after laying the ground rules for safe travel, we set off through the field and down part of the other end of the Lally Trail to experience the ease of travelling over the recent thick pile of snow. Along the way Sarah and volunteer Linda McLaren pointed out various animal tracks and features of the trail - a great way to explore and hike in winter!

Next everyone returned to the drive shed for a great snack of veggies and popcorn balls provided by our Skipper, Judy Fletcher. Around that time we had a very special guest appearance by the resident porcupine. He trundled across the snow and climbed up the big white pine tree behind the homestead - quite a show! We learned that porcupines do not actually throw their needles. Oh, and we should also remember that the easy way to recognize a white pine tree is by its needle clusters - five needles representing the five letters in WHITE.

Big thanks go out to Jeff and Sarah (and MVC) for their awesome program, along with volunteers Judy F., Judy B., Steph Linda and Steph. Next week is the last program in the winter session - and it promises to be a sweet one at the Lally Homestead!