We are fortunate to have quite an inventory of maple trees in Merchantville, many of which are suitable for sap tapping. Today, two members from Stockton University's Maple Project, Matt Olson, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, and Lindsey Brown, lead for the maple hubs, walked the town with Joan Brennan and Kathy Manetas members of Incredible Edible's Merchantville Maple Project to number and tag trees for the 2026 maple sugaring season.

On Saturday, February 1st, Merchantville's Maple Project held it's initial workshop and Sugar Maple tapping event. Over 65 adults and kids attended the session lead by Lindsey brown and Debbie Sommers fro The Stockton University Maple Project. The Stockton Maple Project continuously offers educational workshops to members of our local community and to educators in P-12 schools that incorporate science, sustainability, and reciprocity - a Native American and ecological concept focused on returning resources

Our mission at Incredible Edible Merchantville is to nurture environmental stewardship through the development of edible landscapes that support food security, promote a healthy culture, connect community and foster a sustainable future. Stockton University's Maple Project is currently looking to identify several more hubs before the maple season starts in January and our team is working to pilot this program in town. We recently received a $1000 grant from Sustainable South Jersey's Caren Kaufman Memorial Grant to pursue this initiative.

Merchantville's Maple Project is up and as of 2/2/25 the sap is running. We have 10 volunteer teams collecting from 49 sugar maple trees on municipal property and 4 additional trees on homeowner property. Volunteers are checking buckets daily, collecting the sap daily while it's flowing and pouring off into 5 and 6-gallon storage buckets beneath the back deck at the Community Center. They check sap for any risk of spoilage to make sure it is clear and odorless. If it has a cloudy or yellow appearance, a foul odor,

Incredible Edible (IE) Merchantville is a Borough sustainability partner within the Green Team. It began in 2018 as a grassroots project with a mission to nurture environmental stewardship and food security through the development of edible landscapes. Our goals are to support food security, promote good health, foster sustainable living and connect communities. Two years ago, IE became interested in becoming a HUB for the Stockton University Maple Project. This project is funded through a USDA grant

The unpredictable bouts of extreme weather due to climate change hurting some traditional crops has made pawpaws an appealing alternative. Pawpaws are North America’s largest native fruit and are exceedingly rare, found mainly in the wild across 26 states or in small orchards in Appalachia, where the trees have historically thrived. Praised for their flavor, which is sometimes described as a cross between a mango and banana with the texture of a ripe avocado. The custard-like fruit is an ideal spoonable dessert.