Town of Dryden’s Sapwood Farm has been recognized by the New York office of the National Audubon Society for its preservation efforts.
The 103-acre Sapwood Farm, owned by Sean Carter and his partner Maria Paone, is a small commercial maple and mushroom farm near Yellow Barn and Hammond Hill state forests, according to Tompkins Weekly. On Sapwood Farm’s maple syrup bottles, you’ll see a label featuring the scarlet tanager, a songbird species native to the Finger Lakes region.
The farm participates in Audubon New York’s bird-friendly maple pilot program, which partners with maple producers to preserve ‘sugar bushes,’ the name given to forests utilized for maple syrup.
“We have amended our forest and wildlife habitat plan to include the practices and recommendations of the Audubon bird habitat assessment, and have observed an increase in the diversity of bird species that visit or nest in our forest,” said Carter, according to a press release. “We’re focused on not just the postage stamp of land that a piece of paper says we own, but how it’s part of a much larger landscape, and how that affects our friends, neighbors, and of course all the birds and other wildlife.”
Sapwood Farm is one of six bird-friendly maple producers in New York State. You can check out the farm’s website or visit them at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. throughout the summer season.
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