Contest entrants sought

The New York State Maple Foundation, in partnership with the New York Agriculture in the Classroom Program, is sponsoring a statewide Schoolyard Sugaring Contest.

Using science, social studies, math, and English, students will learn the process of making syrup – from collecting sap and boiling it into maple syrup to the history behind this long-time New York state tradition.

In 2017, the first year of the contest, 103 classrooms participated, engaging over 2,400 students.

Finished maple syrup for each division -- elementary, middle school and high school -- will be scored for taste, clarity, and color by a panel of maple experts in May. The syrup with the highest score in each division wins a $250 prize.

Each registered classroom receives grade- specific lessons, a book on maple sugaring, and an official contest “Taste the Tradition” maple half-pint jug donated by Sugarhill Container, a division of Hillside Plastics, to package their finished product.

Sign-ups for the 2018 contest continues through Feb. 14. The Maple Foundation is pairing any classroom that signs up and requests assistance with a maple farmer in their area.

For more information, email program director Katie Carpenter at kse45@cornell.edu.