Adam Magnuson graduated from NMU in December 2013 with a major in Environmental Studies and Sustainability and an interest in GIS. He worked in the conservation field, doing restoration work for the U.S. Forest Service, local government, nonprofits, and for-profits before ending up at a GIS job for the past few years. “I appreciate the trajectory that the EEGS Department set me out on!” Adam reflected. Recently he and a business partner started developing a sugarbush off of County Road 550, about 35 minutes from the NMU campus. Maple Syrup Hunk focuses on value added products like infusions, maple cream and maple sugar. Adam remembers really enjoying the GC 317 Geography of Food Systems course as an undergraduate. He contacted the EEGS Department to see whether students interested in sustainability and food security would want to collaborate.
This spring, a group of students from Dr. Jelili Adebiyi’s GC 269 Introduction to Sustainability helped out at the sugarbush and examined the Maple Syrup Hunk business in detail for a class project. In their final paper they wrote, “In the Upper Peninsula, nothing represents sustainably sourced local foods better than maple syrup. Better yet, maple sugar, a by-product of maple syrup, is becoming an excellent alternative for recipes that regularly would use processed cane sugar. Maple Syrup Hunk is a small grassroots sugarbush just outside Marquette. This operation, run primarily by Adam the Hunk himself, is already a quite sustainable operation.” Dr. Adebiyi reflected that his class enjoyed the partnership and working with the sugaring operation.
Aliyah Smukala, a May 2023 Environmental Studies and Sustainability graduate, was one of the GC 269 students who helped collect sap. She observed, “In my experience of visiting Adam at his maple sugar bush, I got to see firsthand Adam running a sustainable business through the use of his own hard work and time. He showed me how hard it is to run a business, but with the passion he has for what he seems to make it all worth it. I, now, look forward to starting my own career in hopes to have the passion and hard work ethic that Adam has.”
“I had a great time showing the students around the sugarbush!” said Adam Magnuson after GC 269 students volunteered to help tap trees early in the season and boil the sap in mid-April. “It was a delight having the students take interest in my small business. When I was a student with the EEGS Department, I always enjoyed touring the small UP farms. Getting students involved in their local agricultural systems is so important. Students were engaged, curious and were a huge help emptying buckets of sap!”
Sounds like a sweet opportunity for everyone involved. Follow on Instagram @maplesyruphunk.