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Sustainability and “going green” are words used frequently in every day conversations and seen more frequently in today’s media. Ever since the 1980’s, environmental awareness has grown just as rapidly as our environment has been declining. One aspect of this rather large and daunting subject is sustainable communities. Communities coming together, recycling, and people becoming more aware of supporting local agriculture and businesses, are ways we, on a small scale, can make a difference to the rest of the world; a bottom-up approach, if you will.

Sap Line

Communities, in an effort to be more sustainable, are working together, sharing, and lending a hand.  Community gardens, farmer’s markets, and recycling are all examples of people working together to reduce their carbon footprint and become more self reliant. Take it down a level to an even smaller scale. Each person in a community no matter how small, influence this environmentally friendly process.  The sugaring season in New England, provides an opportunity. The Hilltop Sugar House in Claremont, NH, owned by Bill Therrian, is a step towards community togetherness and sustainability. For two and a half weeks, residents of Claremont worked together to take part in an age-old New England tradition, while tying in modern environmental awareness and contributing to their community.  

In New Hampshire, as well as the rest of New England, Sugaring season is eagerly anticipated and at the same time, a sigh of relief usually follows its end. Once it begins, one is at the mercy of the weather, which determines how well the sap runs and cannot stop for long, lest the sap goes bad. However, there is nothing more personally satisfying than a taste of your own fresh, hot maple syrup. It makes all the hard work completely worth it.

Bill along with Matt Collier, Johnny St. Pierre, and Chris Harrington, built a sugaring arch out of mainly recycled and discarded materials, utilized five properties, and made use of available resources for heating the arch. The process of making the syrup was not the only noteworthy component, but the amount of people that were involved, down to the smallest level, was the pièce de résistance. The activity at the Hilltop Sugar House resembled that of a family reunion with the maple sap as the guest of honor. Everyone was involved.

For the sugaring arch itself, an old home heating oil tank was obtained from a neighbor who no longer needed it. Pieces of scrap metal were used for the door and ventilation flap under the door. Pair of screw eyes were donated by a neighbor to use as door handles, as well as Bill’s garage for the construction, which Matt donated all his spare time to building the majority. The only pieces that were bought were the pan that the sap is boiled in, the angle iron used in the bottom of the tank for a grate and edges of the tank, as well as the fire brick that lined the tank. However, the materials bought were obtained from local business; the pan (used) from a local sugar house, the angle iron from a local scrap metal dealer, and the fire brick from a local hardware/home supply store.    

Sugaring can certainly consume a fair amount of wood as the fire must be kept as hot as possible. In woodstoves, we are more concerned with a glowing warmth and a good bed of coals to heat the home, however, a sugaring arch must be kept as hot as possible. To keep a fire this hot, an armful of wood is used every half hour. Bill utilized the wood from a few dead pines that had fallen in the week’s previous wind storm, as well as extra wood donated from neighbors and loads of scraps that local businesses were otherwise going to throw away. Not only was this a cost effective approach, but a thrifty, sustainable method and shows how the kindness and willingness to work together from the community pay off. 

After the construction was completed, with the help of so many, and the taps in place on the different properties, the fun began. As the sap was collected and brought over to the sugar house, people began to collect as well. On weekends, some 20 or so people had gathered; kids and adults alike. All played a part in making this natural sweet treasure. The kids, while mostly enjoying playing outside, still took turns, willingly, to help either chop kindling or carry wood. Others brought food to cook on the grill for everyone, since sugaring is an all day and oftentimes an all night affair. Matt and Bill were mainly in charge of the fire and syrup making, others like Chris and Johnny took turns “learning the ropes”. 

In total, the Hilltop Sugar House produced 10 gallons of pure New Hampshire maple syrup. This is no small feat considering it takes 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of maple syrup. The example they set, as members of the community worked together to produce a product, will carry from generation to generation as will the tradition of sugaring.