Sweet News: Maple Syrup Program At Stockton Expands To Local Schools

GALLOWAY, NJ — A retired Galloway Township Middle School science teacher is living a sweet life.

Debby Sommers, a 1977 graduate of Stockton University and native of Absecon, is spreading her love of the Pine Barrens to students in South Jersey by showing them how you can get maple syrup from trees right where they live.

“It’s my pet peeve that kids know about elephants, tigers and lions, but they know nothing about what’s in their own backyard,” Sommers said. “When you learn uniqueness and nature and all the cool things about it, it makes you appreciate it. Then, moving forward in your life, you’ll take care of it because you know why it’s so important.”

Sommers is the education specialist of the Stockton Maple Project. The project began three years ago and is funded by nearly $1 million in United State Department of Agriculture grants to promote maple sugaring in South Jersey.

Sommers, in her second year with the project, has tapped into at least 15 schools in the region, teaching students from pre-kindergarten to high school about not only the syrup-making process, but about the Pine Barrens' trees as well.

She's even worked with schools to tap their own trees, like at Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City. There, more than just the science department is getting involved - English and culinary programs use it for lessons on sustainability and, of course, for cooking.

Right now, the Stockon Maple Project is in its busiest season.

“This is the Kentucky Derby for us,” said Judith Vogel, a Stockton professor of Mathematics and the lead on the project.

Vogel said the team will actively collect sap from several hundred trees in Stockton’s maple grove from Jan. 1 to about March 31, or while there are below-freezing nights and warmer days. An elaborate system of tubing has been set up in the grove to collect the sap, and a vacuum pump sucks the sap out allowing the collection of 300 gallons at a time.

The goal this year is to focus on best practices in maple production, and produce nearly double the amount of syrup to sell, Vogel said.

“We are now approved to sell to the community,” Vogel said. “All proceeds will be reinvested into the program helping to sustain the project past the grand funding period.”

She said she wants to keep growing the program and its outreach.

Sweet news for Sommers.

“I’m really happy about coming full circle back to Stockton,” she said. “This job opportunity gave me a chance to use what I learned in college and my teaching career and get back out in the field. I’m thrilled to be back on campus and back in the woods teaching kids about nature.”