Getting permission from university to tap trees
Hi,
Long time lurker, first post. I started tapping a few red maples in our yard and neighbor's yard a couple of years ago. We live close to a large university campus (University of Louisville, Shelby Campus). The campus is not the main campus for UofL and is largely undeveloped with large tracts of lawn, forested areas, etc. Some development has taken place in the past few years, but there are still large undeveloped areas. One edge of the campus butts up to a subdivision and along this line are 70+ mature sugar maple trees. I asked the foundation that manages the campus for permission to tap the trees, but their response was "we don't allow the maple trees to be tapped". Our season is over for this year, but I would really like to get permission to tap them next year. Does anyone have suggestions on how best to approach them and convince them? I have a couple of ideas:
1) promote this as a community outreach - open house during syrup season
2) educational tours with area grade schools, in conjunction with the university
3) promote local food/"green" sustainable food production
Any other ideas?
Thanks!
Dave