Village seeks homes for many maple trees
Trees will be tapped for syrup in the future
Residents in Shepherd are being offered free maple trees with one hitch: when the time comes, they’ll be tapped to make maple syrup.
Home of the popular Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival, village groups joined forces to plant 400 seedlings several years ago with the idea to transplant them later.
Those seedlings — planted on property owned by the Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival Committee — are on the west side of Chippewa Street on the north side of town.
All are a hybrid known for fast growth and high sugar content in their sap, said Steve Davidson, public works director for the village.
“The idea was to transplant them, and now they have to be moved,” Davidson said.
A combined effort of the Shepherd Sugar Bush, Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival Commitee and the Village of Shepherd, the trees are available to any residents who agree to plant them in an area accessible for future sap collecting.
“Please understand that these trees will have to be planted in areas that they can be tapped in future years,” the village said in a Facebook announcement. “We would also ask individuals to also help with watering the transplants.”
Shepherd’s annual festival — held the last full weekend every April — raises money for youth and community projects in part through the sale of maple syrup produced by tapping two woods and hundreds of trees in the village.
Anyone interested in trees can contact Davidson at sdavidson@ villageofshepherd.org please with name, address, phone number and number of trees you would like. Anyone with questions can contact Public Works at 989-8285062.