Amy and Tony Perkins moved into their mid-century Roseville home in 2015, surrounded by a huge yard with five majestic maple trees. Former middle school French teacher Amy later realized those trees had untapped potential.
"Both of my kids attended early childhood education and preschool at nearby Tamarack Nature Center. One year I went through their maple curriculum three times in a row,” Amy explained. “By the third time, I was like: This isn’t that hard. I could drill a hole in a tree. Then it hit me: I have five maple trees in my yard!”
Amy is now an award-winning maple syrup maker. She teaches children and adults the history of maple sugaring, first practiced by Native American tribes, and how to harvest sap and boil it into maple syrup in her own backyard. She’s the city of Roseville’s volunteer expert at the annual Tapping Time! event at the Harriet Alexander Nature Center at Central Park.
“We are so lucky to have Amy as a volunteer! She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, excellent teaching skills, and a true ability to inspire others with her passion and enthusiasm,” said Roseville Parks and Recreation Supervisor Deon Haider, who oversees the nature center. “It’s impossible not to get swept up in Amy's excitement for maple syrup!”
Amy also started her own business, Come on Over Sugarbush Confections, where she and her business partner make and sell a variety of maple sugar candies and maple candied nuts. She judges the maple syrup competition at the Minnesota State Fair, and she holds the office of secretary in the Minnesota Maple Syrup Producers Association.
This peppy Roseville mom has become a bit of a maple mogul. Her classes and Roseville-based business have been featured on KARE 11 and in Minnesota Monthly, with one journalist comparing her astute tasting skills to that of a sommelier. Amy can identify the tree that sap came from in a blind tasting. She’s lovingly named all the maple trees in her yard including Oscar (near her compost bins) and Glinda (after the good witch, of course). 
“Amy is a wonderful teacher and a natural leader. She coaches the other volunteers prior to the Tapping Time! event, which provides a good experience for those in attendance,” said Roseville Volunteer Manager Rachel Boggs. “I love the warmth she brings when she volunteers, and her knowledge of maple syrup is amazing. The event would not be the same without her.”
She made her first batch of maple syrup in 2019. That first year tapping, Amy said she wound up with more than she anticipated. She harvested 115 gallons of sap that year. Her original makeshift plans to boil the sap into syrup on a propane turkey fryer were scrapped after one day. Instead, the next week, she built a cinder block evaporator and made about 4 gallons of maple syrup that year.
She’s steadily grown her production and her knowledge of the craft, including when to tap, how to tap, and the best methods for boiling. In 2023, she harvested 400 gallons of sap from more than 30 taps. She made nearly 10 gallons of syrup that year.
She also learned that sugaring - another name for harvesting maple sap - is a family tradition. Two generations back, her grandfather and his brothers spent time at their family’s cabin and sugarbush near Chippewa Falls, Wisc., A handful of 80-year-old black and white photos are precious souvenirs of that history.
She said she’s enjoyed how this passion has helped deepen her ties to her family, neighbors, and her community. A dedicated army of friends and neighbors shows up every year to help with the work. Before Amy’s mother passed, she told stories of her childhood memories of the family sugarbush. In 2022, Amy developed a maple syrup program with two classes at Emmet D Williams School. Every year, she teaches lessons about the history and mechanics of tapping at the school and then welcomes students to her house for a walking field trip and “hands-on” visit to the evaporator in the spring.
In 2021, Amy hosted the Great Maple Exchange. She gave syrup to two dozen friends and neighbors, who used it to make ice cream, butter, candy, cocktail mixes, pound cake, and more. Everyone exchanged their creations on Mother’s Day weekend.
“There were so many amazing things,” Amy said. “That was just magical.”
Amy said she is excited to share her passion and her knowledge at this year’s Tapping Time, which will be held on March 22-23.
*MANY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED*
Saturday, March 22, 9:30AM – noon and noon – 2:30PM
Sunday, March 23, 11:30AM – 2PM and 2PM – 4:30PM
Volunteers are on hand collecting and cooking sap and explaining the whole process. We are in need of volunteers throughout the festival to assist with activities. There will be a volunteer training beginning a half hour prior to the first shift both days. Volunteers are encouraged to join this fun and informative learning session if they are able.
Please call or email Rachel Boggs at 651-792-7028 or Rachel.Boggs@cityofroseville.com for more information. THANK YOU for volunteering!