On tap: EIC prepares for inaugural Pancakes for the Planet

March 12, 2012

Each year, more than 2,000 area students and residents visit the Environmental Interpretive Center to participate in the Maple Syrup Science Program. Visitors observe and identify maple trees, tap the trees, collect the sap and process it into syrup.

Volunteers head out into the woods As the sun set on another mild February day, a group of volunteers set forth, buckets in hand, on an annual sap-collecting journey.

This year, volunteers collected more than 450 gallons of sap to produce about 11 gallons of syrup.

To share the bounty, the EIC will host Pancakes for the Planet on Saturday, April 21. The inaugural event will feature pancakes and ice cream topped with 100 percent pure maple syrup produced from the maple trees on campus.

Proceeds from the event will support children’s outdoor environmental education. The Maple Syrup Science Program is one of more than a dozen educational programs offered to area schools at the EIC.

“Getting kids outdoors to experience and learn about nature first-hand helps them connect to the natural world and understand how citizens must serve as stewards of our lands, waters and wildlife,” said David Susko, director of the EIC.

“We want to ensure that children in the state of Michigan continue to explore the outdoors, learn about the environment and sustainability, and become active stewards who will protect and enhance our local natural resources.”

Learn more about the Pancakes for the Planet event at www.pancakesfortheplanet.org.