MPR: Native communities keep maple syrup traditions going, even in urban areas
In south Minneapolis, the sound of cars driving by is like white noise. Blue bags hang from maple trees that line the sides of city streets.
The Native American Community Development Institute, or NACDI, has been busy collecting sap from neighborhood trees in recent weeks for the purpose of sugar bushing.
Sugar bushing is the process of collecting and boiling down sap into syrup or even pure sugar.
Gloria Iacono works with NACDI as the Four Sisters Urban Farm manager. She is leading the project this spring.
“You go into hibernation in the winter and then you get that nice, like, first spring day, and it’s just something that you can gather around. It’s a practice that you can build community around,” Iacono said.
She has had the support of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, since it’s the first time NACDI is leading an urban sugar bush.