Maple sugaring workshop hosted by PCSWCD, SCSWCD, Maine Woodland Owners

The Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District, Somerset County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Maine Woodland Owners are teaming up to host a maple sugaring workshop on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to noon at Tupper & Friends LLC Maine Maple Syrup in Cornville.

This workshop will feature Kathy Hopkins, retired statewide extension maple educator, who has worked in the maple industry in Maine and across North America for 23 years. Hopkins is one of the creators of the Maple Grading School and has also created a variety of maple educational resources that can be found on the UMaine Cooperative Extension website. Hopkins will share the basics of do-it-yourself sugaring and informational materials on how to tap maple trees and make syrup will be provided at the workshop.

The workshop will also feature Chris Tupper, one of the owners of Tupper & Friends LLC, who will discuss the basics of maple syrup production and what is needed to get started! Additionally, Tupper will share his story of how he went from producing syrup for home use to a small business.

This whole adventure began in 2019 with 20 trees tapped and a gallon of syrup made on a flat pan on their porch. The following summer Tupper had the crazy idea to build a sugar shack. It was the best thing he did! In the first year with the sugar shack, six good friends decided to join in a maple adventure, which has added a ton of laughter and great memories. With their first evaporator, Tupper & Friends had a few hundred trees tapped and made 28 gallons of syrup! 

Each year they have expanded and made improvements. The next year they purchased a bigger evaporator, tapped 400 trees and made about 85 gallons of syrup. Since then, a reverse osmosis system has been added to the operation. For 2025 the group hopes to tap about 900 trees.

Registration for this workshop is required and can be found at www.piscataquisswcd.org/event/maple-sugaring-workshop/. The workshop is free, but donations to Somerset and Piscataquis Soil and Water Conservation Districts are encouraged. Donations help keep our events low-cost and help support District outreach in our local communities. Once you have submitted your registration, a confirmation will be emailed, which will include directions to Tupper & Friends. Thank you and see you there!