Sustainability And Sugar Shacks

On March 3rd, the grade 6’s traveled to the Kortright Centre where they learned about sustainability and even tried fresh maple syrup. It was very cold, as the temperature with the wind chill was -14 degrees! But we braved the weather and ‘travelled through time’.

 

The sustainability homes demonstrated how to save money, whilst saving our planet and how, in the future, houses are going to have to be built. After a scavenger hunt and exploring both houses A and B, students are able to talk to their parents about proper insulation, light bulbs, and Green Energy Appliances.

 

During a quick break inside, students were treated to a giant pancake! They were delicious, especially with fresh maple syrup!

 

The second part of the excursion included a trip into the forest where we learned how maple sap was discovered. Then, we travelled through different generations of people to see how they made maple syrup. Native American’s used a hollowed tree trunk that you put hot rocks into, to steam off the water and retain the sugar. The pioneer’s cooked the sap in 3 stages of cast iron pots over an open fire, again steaming off the excess water. And our current generation uses a system that automatically puts the sap into a tank, which is then cooked inside a sugar shack to make maple syrup. A fun fact: It takes 40 buckets of sap to make one bucket of syrup! Overall, it was a great day, learning about Sustainability and Pure Substances.

 

By: Aidan and Kavan


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