Incredible Edible (IE) Merchantville is a Borough sustainability partner within the Green Team. It began in 2018 as a grassroots project with a mission to nurture environmental stewardship and food security through the development of edible landscapes. Our goals are to support food security, promote good health, foster sustainable living and connect communities. Two years ago, IE became interested in becoming a HUB for the Stockton University Maple Project. This project is funded through a USDA grant
to promote maple sugaring through research and community outreach in South Jersey and will help us to cultivate residential and public land stewardship and advance our goals.
In October, IE was awarded a Caren Kaufman Grant to fund tapping and sap storage and bottling supplies. Our Borough’s Shade Tree Commission completed an inventory of Red and Sugar Maples on public lands in January 2021 and we started to inventory residential maple trees this fall. We had sufficient Sugar Maples and funds to pilot this program and initiate tapping in January 2025.
The idea of a HUB is to serve as a maple sugaring “heart” of the community. We will be tapping Sugar Maple trees that exist on public land and encouraging residents to tap the trees on their property. All the sap collected will be evaporated, boiled and bottled by project volunteers. We hope our trees produce enough sap to sell some “Merchantville Maple Syrup” at our Friday Farmers Market!
During the past 18 months the Stockton Maple Project has provided education, training and support. They led our initial community workshop on February 1st, an Adopt-A-Tree & Tapping Event, that engaged and educated more than 60 adults and kids. They have loaned us an evaporator and, if we are able to sustain Merchantville’s Maple Project for 5 years, it will become ours. The Stockton Maple Project collects production data and researches the environmental impact of the tapping on the trees and local wildlife. They are in the third cycle of USDA grant funding to test the feasibility of a maple syrup industry in the Garden State.
Merchantville is excited for the opportunity to provide a local hub and partner with them in their efforts. IE’s Merchantville Maple Project plans to accomplish the following during the 2024-25 season. We will identify Maple Species and conduct a residential tree inventory; purchase equipment and supplies; st an ""Adopt-A-Tree"" event to register volunteers; programs; provide links to educational materials for the community; promote the project on social media; host at least two (2) community/school education; and, provide sap data to Stockton University Maple Project. Everyone in Merchantville and neighboring communities is invited to join us!