A Sweet Tradition
Members of the Colby Outing Club tap into the arboretum's potential
Step into Perkins Arboretum on a quiet April day and listen. There is gurgling runoff from snowmelt. The cheerful chatter of songbirds. The creaking of a swaying pine. But nestled between those notes is the distinctive “ping, ping, ping” of sap dropping into a metal bucket.
The Colby Outing Club’s maple-sugaring initiative carries on the New England tradition of collecting sap and making maple syrup each spring. Beyond making a satisfying end product, the process offers a chance to escape from the busyness of campus.
“Being out in the sugarbush has been the sweetest part of sugaring for me,” said Nicole Lin ’28. “When the snow settles and I’m out there collecting sap, everything’s very still.”
“I listen to the chickadees and downy woodpeckers,” added Ariana Raschid Farrokhi ’27. “I admire the mossy trees. It’s all very fun.”
Clad in muck boots and armed with a cordless drill, Farrokhi works her way through a small grove of maple trees. She pushes her weight against the trunk as ribbons of wood curl onto the forest floor. She then pushes a metal tap into the small cavity and hangs a bucket beneath it.
Two weeks later, the group collects nearly 100 gallons of sap. Lin and Makena Logan ’27 help Farrokhi build a fire to boil the clear, sugary liquid.
Hours of smoky labor produce the final product, a rich, amber syrup ready to enjoy.
“Our sugaring program is very collaborative and provides opportunities to get to know more people,” said Logan. “It’s a process that involves constant learning.”
