The Sugar Bush at MCC

The Sugar Bush is a hands-on, multidisciplinary project aimed at supporting specific components in a variety of courses at the college. History, anthropology, chemistry, agriculture, business, marketing and environmental sciences are just a handful of the courses that can take advantage of The Sugar Bush and related operations in their coursework.

In the future, there are plans to run educational programs for K-12 students, offer noncredit courses, create a syrup making co-op and maybe even have a syrup festival.

MCC is one of four colleges in Michigan and one of just 27 colleges in the United States to run a Sugar Bush operation.

2025 Sugaring Season

The 2025 sugaring season is well underway! As you look around the Sidney campus, you will see sap buckets below many trees and smoke billowing out of the sap house. Check out the weekly schedule below:

• Sap Collection Days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday
• Boil Down Days: Wednesday (and occasional weekends depending on the amount of sap collected that week.)
• General Work Days: Every day! Help with sap collection, bucket and tap maintenance, Wood collecting/splitting/stacking, cleaning, bottling, and anything else that might pop up during the season. 

If you're interested in volunteering or wanting to learn about the sugaring process, please contact Seth Sutton at seth.sutton@montcalm.edu or call 989-328-1008.

Watch for more information about the sale of our syrup and sugar products later in the season.