Photo by Samantha Davis. (Left to right) Seventh grade Lynd Public School science students Mikey Blancett, Jacob Ibarra, Ian Adelmann and Lexi Bahr make syrup in the evaporator Thursday afternoon. The students have been collecting sap from trees, and turning it into raw syrup after going through a RO concentration system and boiling process. 

LYND — Science students from Lynd Public School have been working on a new project and creating their own maple syrup production from the trees on school property. After collecting the sap, they run it through a concentration system and boil it, and watch as it turns into a raw syrup.

“I like that we are getting to do something new, and we are learning about the process of how to make syrup,” seventh grader Aubrey Watts said. “The learning side of it [is fun].”

Lynd school has several Boxelder maple trees on the property, which the students have been collecting sap from. The class has been working on the project for about a month, and participated in three days of collecting and boiling, Thursday of which was the last day.

“We’ve gotten about 50 gallons today of sap, this week was really good,” science teacher Martin Boucek said. “We’ve done it three times … We take the highly concentrated (sap) to boil it. Then it’s raw (syrup), and then we filter it before we bottle it.”

There have also been people around the Lynd community that heard about the science project, and have offered their own sugar maple trees to expand the reach for the students to gather sap from.

Students made their way through the trees around the school to see which ones were ready to gather sap from, which they were able to get through either a tubing or bagging process, after drilling into the tree.

“The cooking and the gathering is probably the most fun,” seventh grader Olivia Hlavka said. “It needs to be below freezing at night and above freezing during the day, so the sap runs from the root to the tree to where we can collect it.”

While taking a look at each tree, the students said they’ve enjoyed this project for the learning process and getting back outdoors.

“Last week, we had a lot of syrup coming out. There was a lot of sap,” seventh grader Ian Adelmann said.

“We got to taste it, and it tasted like caramel corn,” Watts added. “I like it.”

After collecting the sap, Boucek and the class run it through a RO (reverse osmosis) concentration system to help filter.

“In order to speed things up, we’ve got our little RO machine. They’re taking it from like 4% sap, to almost 8% sap,” Boucek said. “We’ve got about two gallons (of maple syrup) out of the whole field so far.”

After the RO system, the students then boil the sap, which continues to filter it, and wait until the syrup turns an amber color and reaches 217 degrees and a 59% sugar level.

“This is probably one of the (most fun) parts other than collecting,” Hlavka said. “The other day, we got almost three full five-gallon buckets (of sap).”

While boiling, the students managed stirring the syrup, watching the temperature and frequently adding wood into the boiler to keep the heat up.

“I think some of the minerals, you can smell them. A little magnesium, maybe an overwhelming saltiness … There’s a lot of compounds beyond sugar in there,” Boucek told his students while monitoring the process. “Our pan (in the boiler) is really nice in the fact that it has a gradient, so it (the sap) snakes through, and eventually you can pull off straight syrup while putting sap in … You can see the difference in the colors.”

Boucek said the class has been getting about one gallon of syrup for every 50 gallons of sap collected.

The students also discussed how crucial the weather is for the process of sap gathering.

“Once the (trees) start budding, the sap runs to the buds to use it, and then the sap becomes bitter,” Hlavka said. “It’s not sugary anymore, because they’re using those sugars to bloom the buds.”

Following the completion of the project, the class plans to have a breakfast together for everyone to enjoy the syrup they made.

Boucek made the project possible after receiving a $4,300 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) grant from the Toshiba America Foundation last month. The grant allowed the class to purchase materials needed. This is the first time Boucek has done a syrup production project, and hopes to do it again.

“They (students) love coming out here for sure. It’s very time consuming. They do a lot of measuring, they do all the collections … They’re fully involved,” Boucek said. “It provides such a hands-on experience for them.”