Building exposure to job skills through our land-based farm activities

By Toni Kessler

This quarter has brought new hands-on learning opportunities for students within our Vocational Program. The “Voc Program” aims to build exposure to job skills through our land-based farm activities. In the third quarter, we incorporated carpentry into our morning academic time.  Students have been busy applying their math and science skills and learning how to read construction drawings to build a storage shed. This also allowed the students to use the rough-sawn lumber they milled in the second quarter and become comfortable using construction tools.

Most excitingly, our students are getting high-level industry experience with our new sugaring setup. Our newly built sugar house, equipped with state-of-the-art sap boiling technology, significantly enhances our vocational training program. Students and staff have diligently managed the woodlot, tapped trees, and collaborated with local experts to ensure a successful season.

They are learning to use a reverse osmosis machine and steam away equipment in the sugarhouse. These machines are used in more extensive maple production facilities to help reduce the amount of time spent evaporating the water from our glorious sugar maple sap.  Many of our students bring newfound skills back to their families and communities, boiling sap in their neighborhoods. We look forward to all the delicious syrup we make and celebrating our sugar harvest with our annual Maple Fest on April 12th.