OLD TOWN — When warm days follow freezing nights, sap begins to run in maple trees across the University of Maine Forest in Old Town. Students and staff haul buckets of the clear liquid through snow and mud to a small wooden sugarhouse, where steam rises from a wood-fired evaporator as the sap slowly boils into thick, sweet maple syrup.
Visitors will soon be able to see the process firsthand during Maine Maple Sunday Weekend at UMaine’s Thomas J. Corcoran Sugar House.
The sugarhouse — along with the equipment used to produce syrup and the finished product itself — will be open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 22 as part of the statewide celebration.
Undergraduate students work alongside staff
At the sugarhouse, undergraduate students work alongside staff operating the wood-fired evaporator that turns sap into syrup. The hands-on work gives students experience in maple production while they study forestry and related fields at UMaine.
Sap is collected from about 350 tapped trees across the University Forest in Old Town. This year, University Forests Manager Keith Kanoti and his team started boiling on March 9 and produced 16 quarts of syrup in the first boil. Maple season in Central Maine typically lasts four to six weeks between late February and early April.
The amount of syrup produced each year depends largely on air temperature. According to Kanoti, the ideal conditions for syrup production include below-freezing temperatures at night to freeze the sap in the trees, followed by above-freezing temperatures during the day to thaw the sap and allow it to flow from the taps. In 2025, Kanoti’s team produced 295 quarts of syrup.
Inside the sugarhouse, tree sap is poured into an evaporator, a long metal tank with multiple pans where water is boiled off and sugars concentrate into syrup. On average, it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Kanoti’s team then filters out minerals and other particles, boils the syrup once more in a propane-fueled tank and bottles it.
“It’s actually a fairly simple process,” Kanoti said. “It’s a process that’s been done for thousands of years, and people have refined it over time.”
Work prepares students for careers in forestry
The maple operation supports UMaine’s teaching and outreach mission. Students collecting and boiling sap gain practical experience while managing other spring semester responsibilities, including timber harvesting and forest management — work that prepares them for careers in forestry, conservation and outdoor recreation.
Jack Houtz, a 2018 UMaine graduate, is now a University Forests technician. As an undergraduate, he worked at the campus sugarhouse, helping boil maple syrup and gaining hands-on forestry experience.
Through his work with University Forests, Houtz also harvested timber, measured and marked trees for harvest, operated heavy equipment and led public tours. The experience built the technical knowledge, time management and communication skills he uses in his role today.
“There are a lot of foundational skills and ideas that have to be learned in the classroom,” Houtz said. “But it’s not until you go out into the field and get your hands dirty — or sticky, in this case — that you can practice and retain them. Those skills I learned as an undergraduate are what set me up for success in my forestry career.”
His work reflects UMaine’s commitment to learner-centered R1 education, where undergraduate students participate in hands-on research alongside faculty and industry partners to tackle challenges facing Maine communities.
“Our mission at the University Forest focuses on research, demonstration and education,” Kanoti said. “We also host community events where local schools and visitors can come see how maple syrup is made. Researchers sometimes use the sap or syrup for projects and experiments. Some classes even incorporate the sap and syrup into coursework.”
Welcome to the Thomas J. Corcoran Sugar House
During Maine Maple Sunday Weekend, visitors will be able to tour the sugarhouse, see the equipment used to produce maple syrup and sample syrup made at UMaine. Bottles of the university’s syrup will also be available for sale.
The Thomas J. Corcoran Sugar House is located on Lucy Thompson Road off College Avenue, about a half mile from its intersection with Stillwater Avenue. A sign will be posted at the roadside during Maine Maple Sunday Weekend.
“It’s a fun and interesting activity for the university, and it’s a great way to connect people with the forest — especially in the spring,” Kanoti said.
