51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø

Birch tapping workshops on tap in Anchorage, Palmer

Southcentral Alaska residents can learn the process of collecting birch sap to make refreshing drinks or boil down into birch syrup in two 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø Cooperative Extension Service workshops. 

The workshops, led by retired Extension educator Meg Burgett, will introduce birch "sugaring" and cover where, when and how to tap birch trees to collect sap.

Birch sap is versatile. Drink it straight from the tree or use it in place of water for beverages. Make it into carbonated drinks, beer or wine. Or boil it down to make syrup. 

Learn the process of selecting trees and the tools used to tap and set up a collection system. The workshops will also discuss proper storage, ways to use the sap and the principles of making birch syrup. Each workshop costs $10, and a full tapping kit is available for an additional $25.

The first workshop is from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Campbell Creek Science Center, 5600 Science Center Drive, Anchorage. or visit .

For more information, contact Molly Johansson at 907-786-6313 or mjohansson@alaska.com.

The second workshop is from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, April 26, at the  Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center, 1509 Georgeson Drive, Palmer. or visit. 

For more information, contact Melissa Clampitt at mrclampitt@alaska.edu.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five business days in advance to Johansson in Anchorage and Clampitt in Palmer. Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to individuals with limited English proficiency upon request to amnorris2@alaska.edu.

This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

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