Every March-April is when winter shifts to spring in Canada, and it is expected to be chilly in the spring. This year is no exception, with highs and lows, and fluctuating temperatures. Just like the prolonged pandemic, the mask order was just lifted in mid-March, and the cases began to rise again in early April, which is helpless. However, when it's warm and cold, it's a good time to participate in the traditional Canadian Maple Sugar Festival to understand and experience its unique history and culture.
Today, let's visit the prestigious Maple Town at Mountsberg Sugarbush.
It is said that the history of maple sugar in the Mountsberg maple tree conservation area is more than 150 years old. In 1833, Scotsman Archibald Cameron (1787-1874) came to Canada, bought a piece of land in what is today the Church of Flamborough, and started a new life. He and his wife, Janet Mclean (1792-1872), had 8 children. While the Cameron family ran a traditional farming career, they also started the development of the maple sugar jungle.
Until 1964, two years after the death of Duncan Cameron's youngest son, James Cameron (1878-1962), the Halton Region Conservation Authority purchased the maple syrup tree jungle, which is in the Mountsberg Conservation Area; this would help protect and develop the valuable resource. It is open to the public every spring and provides educational activities on maple sugar culture for more than 40 years.
Cameron family home
The indigenous peoples of Canada were the first to discover that maple syrup is sweet and edible. It is fragrant and delicious, suitable for nourishing the lungs and stomach. They used the "batch method" to dig trenches and drill holes in the trunks of the maple trees, and then used wooden collection pots to collect the maple sap. Since then, people have improved the way of collecting the liquid, punching holes in the maple trunk, with a depth of no more than 75 mm, a diameter of no more than 12 mm, and a slight upward slope; insert a plastic or metal plug, connect a plastic conduit, and the maple liquid will enter the barrel.
Due to the slow growth of maple sugar trees, the maple trees for sap collection must be more than 50 years old and have a diameter of 25 cm to collect maple sap. In addition, collecting maple sap requires the right temperature. Maple sap can only be harvested when it is below 0°C at night and above 5°C during the day. Each maple tree produces about 50 litres of maple sap in the spring, which can be processed to yield 1-1.5 litres of maple syrup. In order to protect maple trees, the sap needs to be collected from different maple trees or different locations of maple trees every year, and the amount of sap should not exceed 5% of the total amount.
About 300 maple sugar trees will be excavated in this year's Mountsberg maple jungle, all of which are more than 200 years old. During the Maple Syrup Festival, people gather in quaint workshops to watch the traditional maple syrup-making process performed by sugar makers, listen to the special person explaining the process of making maple syrup, or buy fresh maple syrup products and maple syrup in the food workshop. If you are interested, you can also participate in a night tour, take a traditional carriage, experience a unique night maple sugar tour, watch special performances, and more.
In addition to the activities above, the reserve also has a farm animal area with horses, sheep, rabbits and chickens….
The Raptor Center has the most representative features of North America: bald eagles, falcons, owls, etc. Many animals have been adopted and sent to the Raptor Center because of injuries and being unable to return to the wild.
Animals Center
In addition to caring for these animals, the Animals Center offers educational programs and donations to better protect the health and happiness of these animals by helping people learn more about them. This includes how to share our environment with them and reduce the human impact.
These are the maple festivals that today's Maple Town Mountsberg Maple Syrup will bring to you.
Welcome to experience the fun of the Maple Sugar Festival in the early spring, feel everything that nature brings to us, and wish people and nature will always be peaceful.
Scientific Facts of the Maple Sugar Festival:
→ A mature maple tree can absorb 90 kilograms of carbon dioxide every year, as well as pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide; at the same time, maple leaves release a lot of oxygen, thereby greatly reducing the impact of climate change.
→ The roots of sugar maple trees are shallow, which is very sensitive to precipitation and temperature changes.
→ Maple syrup is a natural product without preservatives or additives. It is rich in minerals such as calcium and potassium that are similar to whole milk, as well as vitamins B2, B5, B6, niacin, biotin, folic acid, amino acids and other vitamins.
The grade of maple syrup is divided by colour: golden - delicate taste; amber - rich taste; dark - rich taste;
dark black - strong flavour.
→ Maple sugar jungle is a habitat for biodiversity, owls, squirrels, salamanders, etc. Frogs can be heard chirping in the spring forest, trout can be seen in the water, trilliums, coltsfoot and blooms on the ground of violets.
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WOW Nature Outdoor Discovery was established in Beijing, China in 2015, and is committed to advocating a lifestyle that is close to nature, healthy, balanced, and environmentally friendly.
In 2016, WOW Nature settled in Canada and registered as a non-profit organization. Through carefully designed outdoor exploration activities, Wow Nature leads everyone to walk into nature and deeply experience local culture in the process of "playing", thereby improving the quality of life, enhancing parent-child relationships, expanding social circles, and gaining more health and happiness!
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