t-R file PHOTO Visitors to last year’s Tree to Table event enjoy a pancake breakfast at the Grimes Farm Nature Center in Marshalltown. The maple syrup topping the pancakes is sourced from trees at the Grammer Grove Wildlife Area in Liscomb.

A community breakfast isn’t a new concept, but Marshall County Conservation Board takes it to the next level. The annual Tree to Table pancake feed at Grimes Farm Conservation Center is set for March 7 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. An advance ticket costs $6 for the meal, or $7 at the door. Attendees get three pancakes, two sausage links, locally harvested maple syrup and a drink.

“Our pancake breakfast is a little bit different than traditional pancake feeds, since all of the syrup that is served comes from our sugar bush, which is located at Grammer Grove,” said County Naturalist Emma Bruck.

Because maple syrup does not technically expire (if stored correctly) what was harvested in years past had been served at these feeds. But this year, the tree tapping has resumed.

“This is the first year we have tapped since the (August 2020) derecho,” she noted. “Our district forester recommended that we give our trees a break in order to give them some time to recuperate after they were hit really hard.”

County staff tapped 13 trees.

“It was a variety of trees — trees that were historically good producers and maybe had poor canopy health now after the derecho, and then some trees that were not huge producers in the past, but have more sunlight since it kind of opened up the lower part of the canopy. We grabbed a spread of trees,” she said. “The taps are out still, and it’s been going well and we’ve gotten quite a lot of sap.”

At the feed, there will be a display case with information about how to harvest maple syrup, plus a slide show going. Staff will be on hand to answer questions. Bruck said the county tapped sugar maple trees because they have the highest sugar content.

“You can tap other maple trees, but the sugar content in their sap is lower, so it takes a lot more sap to boil down, so the recommended tree is the sugar maple tree,” she said.

According to ISU Extension:

· A tree must be at least 10 inches in diameter to tap it.

· If a tree is 18 inches or more in diameter, it can handle a second tap.

· Equipment used for evaporation: flat evaporator pan with a source of heat (usually wood or LP gas), filters, sap and syrup hydrometers for learning syrup and sap density, bottles, seals and labels.

· Actual sugar content of sap varies widely from tree to tree and from season to season, but maple sap at 2% sugar content requires 43 gallons of sap to produce a gallon of syrup.

Money raised at the pancake feed goes back into Grammer Grove, including its sugar bush and park improvements. The park is one of Bruck’s favorites. It has a playground, shelter house, primitive camping, trails, and is the only county park that allows horseback riding. It also has a glacial erratic (large glacially deposited rock), and flowers in the spring.

Grammer Grove is located at 2030 127th Street in Liscomb.

A Shed Hunting event there is scheduled for April 11 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Registration deadline is April 3 by 4 p.m. and is free. Bruck said participants could engage in a family-friendly time searching for naturally shed deer antlers. Antlers will be put throughout the area so people can find one to take home.

Brown Bag Bunch – Earth Day Wildflower Walk is set for April 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Registration deadline is April 17 by 4 p.m., and is also a free event. It will be a relaxed stroll through spring ephemerals. Participants can bring a sack lunch to enjoy before or after the program.

To register for events: call 641-752-5490, email mccb@marshallcountyia.gov or text only 641-758-9777.