(WSIL) -- SIU's "Touch of Nature" demonstrates how to make maple syrup.
A small group went out Sunday to learn about the process.
The program focused on giving hands-on experience for finding and tapping trees as well as collecting the sap.
Organizers says, the amount of syrup made comes at a price since it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.
"We tap about 100 trees out here, and collect in late January, February. When you think about the 50 gallon barrels of sap that we have stored and how we boil it down over our evaporators, which are wood fire, it's a lengthy somewhat arduous process, but well worth it." said Erik Oberg, Program Director of Outdoor Education.
Touch of nature is holding their maple syrup festival in March this year after being postponed from February over COVID-19 concerns.
