Program Description

Are you looking for a truly distinct New England experience for spring break? Spring Break in Maple Nation revels in the ancient New England tradition of creating maple syrup.

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The Abenaki believe maple sap is one of mother earth’s profoundest gifts, that from winter’s deepest darkness, when the threat of starvation loomed real, the earth gave to the people the gift of running sap, of sweet sustenance from the trees. During this trip, students will learn about the Abenaki history of sugaring as a model for a deeply-connected and sustainable relationship to a place. We’ll also examine various economic models that define the sugaring industry today, from small-scale “mom and pop” operations to the more controversial industrial-scale operation, Sweet Tree Holdings, the largest maple sugar operation in the world. Finally, we’ll try our hand at making our own syrup, working at Bald Mountain Meadow to tap trees, collect sap, and boil it down for syrup to enjoy on our pancakes, in our coffee, and in other recipes we concoct!

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Along the way, we’ll meet and interact with various scientists, artists, educators, and entrepreneurs--all experts who will teach us the ins and outs of maple sugaring while helping us think through the nuances of its related complexities. How does climate change project the demise of the local sugaring industry, and what might a place do in the absence of one of its core regional signifiers? How does indigenous wisdom offer a paradigm for a sustainable future? Students will think deeply about these and other questions, about their relationships to the natural world, about how communities are linked to their landscapes, and about how our landscapes can feed us physically and spiritually. Sitting around the fire, breathing the sweet aroma of boiling sap, we will experience firsthand the particular magic of sap season.

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And while the snow lasts, we’ll find other ways to celebrate the glories of late winter in Vermont. Sledding. Cross country skiing. Snowshoeing, Fat-tire biking. Our days will begin mid-morning, so participants can rest and recover after their winter term, and we’ll build in other enjoyable experiences to complement our sugaring –a trip to Burlington, for example; excursions to Local Donut and Galaxy Bookstore in Hardwick; a visit to Greensboro’s Highland Center for the Arts.