The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
FFA students share maple knowledge
VERONA » What do elementary students in Rochester City Schools know about maple? Thanks to the VernonVerona-Sherrill FFA and its MobileMaple Exhibit, young students now know more about maple production than they ever thought possible.
As part of a one-day program, seven VVS FFA members traveled to East Syracuse Elementary and Henry Hudson Elementary No. 28 to teach students about maple, the maple industry, agriculture.
The inner city youths from Rochester were thoroughly engaged in the event despite cold and unfavorable weather. The young students learned about different as- pects of maple production. Students age kindergarten through fifth grade, visited various stations to learn about different phases of maple and exactly how it’s produced. VVS FFA member Sierra Wratten dressed as “Pocahontas” explained the theory of how maple syrup was first discovered. “John Smith” (Gabby Adams) demonstrated how the first taps were created through whittling spouts out of sumac trees.
Next, participants moved to a tree tapping station where they had the opportunity to tap a tree with VVS’s preferred method, using a precision tapper. A precision tapper is a regular power drill with an attached stabilizing mechanism to ensure a straight hole consistently 1 ½ inches deep. VVS FFA was also equipped with a Bit and Brace, which is a manual drill used to create holes in early settler days. This part of the exhibit shows advances in themaple industry.
Students also learned about the different systems used to collect sap including metal buckets and modern plastic tubing. Here, students become a forest of maple trees and are exposed to a maze of tubing similar to that of the maple sugar bush on the VVS campus. As “simulated maple sap” sways through the system, students observe the simulated sap flow through the plastic tubes.
Students learned the final stages of maple production as they entered the 28-foot, simulated sugarhouse, Mobile Maple trailer to learn how sap is then turned into maple syrup. Furnished with a small-scale evaporator, the process of converting maple sap to syrup is conducted during a replicated boil effect using air injectors.
At the conclusion of the tour, participants sampled real maple syrup and maple fluff, a cotton candy like substance made from pure maple sugar. The VVS FFA produces both products as part of its agricultural education studies and programs.
In order for this educational experience to take place, New York Senator Rich Funke sponsored the event with New York Assemblyman Mark Johns. Nearly 1,000 students from the Rochester City Schools took part in the 25-minute presentations.