About Barred Woods
Barred Woods Sugarbush, almost 1500 acres of Hardwood Forest in Northern Vermont. Home to moose, black bears, bobcats, fischer, migrating songbirds, and a variety of other wildlife ..... and the finest Sugar Maple Forest Mother Nature can provide.
Barred Woods was founded as a collaborative partnership among four friends who share a passion for Vermont, making maple syrup, and preserving our forests.
Our name came to us from a chance encounter with a large barred owl while enjoying a walk through our Underhill sugarbush. She studied us from a tall spruce tree, and tolerated our questioning of "who cooks for you?". Taking this as a good omen, we named her Emma in honor of the woman who had once owned this beautiful parcel of land. Thus our company name Barred Woods was born, with Emma as our matriarch.
We are very passionate about producing the best tasting and highest quality maple syrup possible. Our goal is to grow our maple syrup and other maple product offerings while being good stewards of the land and having a positive impact on the local economy.
You've met Emma, here's the rest of us.
Dawn grew up in Vermont and is an engineering graduate from the University of Vermont. Her passion for maple came from getting maple candy in the shape of a pilgrim every Christmas in her stocking. She draws from a variety of mechanical, farming and logging lessons as a result of her Vermont upbringing. Dawn is constantly finding innovative ways to improve our maple syrup production and quality.
Barb grew up in northern New York near the Canadian border. Her uncle and brother were "sugarers" and she never tasted artificial maple syrup until she went to college. She loves the botany of the forests, especially the delicate and beautiful "spring ephemeral" wild flowers that sprout for a very short time in our sugarbush each spring after the snow has melted and before the trees leaf out.
Matt has lived in Vermont for over 30 years. His passion for maple sugaring stems from a deep love of the outdoors and the northern forests. Heaven on earth for Matt is working in the sugarbush on a clear, crisp fall day, with the leaves of the maples filtering a golden sunshine on the forest interior. It doesn't get any better than this.
Charlotte is our resident "birder" and among other tasks ensures we manage our sugarbush in a way that promotes habitat for the many bird species that live in or visit our forest every year. Char's attention to detail ensures we consistently produce the highest quality maple syrup possible. When not working on sugaring (which isn't very often) Char also sings in the Vermont Choral Union and in a local band called The Front Porch Foursome.
Rudy is the "Star of the Show" at Barred Woods Maple. She was adopted in January 2017 and has been with us every day since. She is a great helper to us in the woods. If we are clearing brush from trees we cut for firewood she will yank on branches and help too. During her free time Rudy loves bounding through the forest in chase of bouncing tennis balls and chipmunks (she hasn't come close to catching one yet!). Rudy is the kindest, gentlest soul we know and we feel blessed to have her with us.
Barred Woods Maple
Barred Woods Sugarbush, almost 1500 acres of Hardwood Forest in Northern Vermont. Home to moose, black bears, bobcats, fischer, migrating songbirds, and a variety of other wildlife ..... and the finest Sugar Maple Forest Mother Nature can provide.
Our Story
Barred Woods was founded as a collaborative partnership among four friends who share a passion for Vermont, making maple syrup, and preserving our forests. Our name came to us from a chance encounter with a large barred owl while enjoying a walk through our Underhill sugarbush. She studied us from a tree stump and tolerated our questioning of "who cooks for you?". Taking this as a good omen, we named her Emma in honor of the woman who had once owned this beautiful parcel of land. Thus our company name Barred Woods Maple was born, with Emma as our matriarch.
Our Team
Our sugarhouse and sugarbush are located in the Green Mountains of Northern Vermont. We strive everyday to support our rural community and the working families that live in it. Although we are a small company with less than 12 employees we are still one of the largest employers in our town. All of us share a passion for stewarding our land, for making the best tasting maple syrup available, and for ensuring our customers are always delighted with our products.
The Land We Love
We steward 1500 acres of Hardwood Forest in Northern Vermont. We manage our land to improve the habitat for wildlife. Our land is conserved from development through the Vermont Land Trust, we partner with Vermont Audubon to manage our forest for songbird habitat, and we maximize carbon capture and sequestration and are monitored by the American Carbon Registry. All of our land is open for public access for activities such as skiing, fishing, and hiking.
