A tree-mendous learning experience

State Senator Dean Skelos, center, Watson School Principal Joan Waldman and the fourth grade class of Mrs. SpallinoFord gathered outside the Mobile Maple Exhibit to get a taste of some fresh maple syrup.

Courtesy RVC Schools

On a crisp September morning, Watson School students were visited by the Mobile Maple Exhibit. This hands-on learning center was sponsored by Senator Dean Skelos through the New York State Maple Producers Association. High school students enrolled in the agriculture program at the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School District in upstate New York facilitated this roving classroom. They shared their knowledge of the discovery, history and production of maple syrup at interactive stations. Watson children had the opportunity to participate in a tree tapping demonstration, tour a trailer complete with a kitchen where sap was processed into syrup, and taste natural maple syrup.