Made in New Jersey: Maple syrup production teaches students the value of local trees
Each winter, about 600 red maples are tapped in the campus maple grove.
A maple syrup program is teaching students about sustainable production through a grove of red maple trees at Stockton University in Galloway.
Each winter, about 600 red maples are tapped in the campus maple grove. Project leaders say the process brings longstanding maple techniques to a different climate while showing students how local trees can produce natural syrup. The effort began in 2019 as a research and educational program.
Last year, the group produced 63 gallons of syrup. Staff and students say freeze‑thaw cycles are key to sap flow, with colder nights and warmer days creating ideal conditions.
Sap moves through taps and tubes before being collected in tanks and taken to the Sugar Shack on campus. There, a boiling process condenses the small amount of natural sugar into red maple syrup.
The syrup is sold at local farmers markets, but project members say the goal is to give students and the community a deeper understanding of sustainable practices and the value of the environment around them.
