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| Liam Quirk and his dad, Bill, drill in a birch tree near Fairbanks to install a tap. Photo by Marlo Saenz |
Birch sap will start flowing soon and, starting today, OneTree Alaska will distribute 200 birch tapping kits to Interior residents who are interested in learning about birch tapping.
This year, the kits will cost $40 and participants will have the opportunity to participate in a citizen science activity. The kits come with instructions, gear and a recipe or two. OneTree lead Jan Dawe said One Tree will produce home tapping kits for “all who want to work with their trees, experience the icy fresh taste of sap and try their hand at making birch syrup at home.”
Participants may observe, record and submit their daily sap flow data to OneTree. Dawe said the goal is understanding how sap is moving across the Tanana Valley Watershed and how climate change may be impacting early spring events in the annual life cycle of birch. Those who participate will receive a 4-ounce jar of birch syrup. She would also like to collect data from individuals who received the kits last year and plan to participate again.
Individuals may pick up kits at the OneTree Studio in the Lola Tilly Commons from 4-6 p.m. today, by appointment and will continue each day as supplies last. Contact OneTree at onetreealaska@gmail.com. The entrance is on the side facing Patty Gym. Contact OneTree if you want to arrange a weekend pickup.
UAF climate scientist Rick Thoman has forecast that sap will begin flowing the third week of April and the median forecast date for green-up is May 13, five days later than average.
The OneTree program is affiliated with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The program provides forest education to students, and conducts research on birch sap processing methods and on the conditions that lead to when sap flow begins and peaks.
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