2020 Holiday Sale

Hi everyone,
We're having a special holiday sale on our birch sap products December 14 through 21, from noon until 6 pm at the OneTree Alaska STEAM Studio on the UAF campus (Lola Tilly Commons, 1850 Tanana Loop, Fairbanks 99775). All proceeds support OneTree's work to engage learners of all ages in boreal forest education, citizen science, and forest product development.

Please enjoy updates and photos from November through the first half of December below. We're looking forward to seeing you at the sale!

This is Pearson Brodie, half of our OneTree Alaska Sugar Master team. Pearson lives in Kodiak most of the winter, but he came to Fairbanks in November to finish making birch syrup from the 2020 sap season and get us ready for the 2021 season. Before making syrup, Pearson kindly came over to our house to help move a birch tree which had fallen across our driveway. Thanks, Pearson! After moving the tree, we looked at each other and wondered: What can we do with all these branches?

tHere's what we did. We took branches to the Lola Tilly Commons building and placed some in sap buckets to decorate the loading dock--which is the entrance to the OneTree Alaska STEAM Studio. The branches will be the first thing you see when you come to the sale! You'll see the loading dock at the back end of the Lola Tilly Commons building, along the far eastern edge of the parking lot that the Patty Gym, SRC, and several dormitories face onto.

When the garage door is up, OneTree's open-air store is open for business. You can park on the right-hand side (as you face the building) of the small parking area adjacent to the loading dock or along the sidewalk on the side of the building. Only one customer is allowed on the loading dock at a time--so stay warm in your car until you can take your turn on the loading dock. And please wear your mask!

Here's what it looks like from our seat inside the Tilly, looking out toward the parking lot. If we're not  sitting at the desk, just give it a good rap on it and we'll come right out.

Here's what we see when we turn around and face into the STEAM Studio. This is another branch from the same tree as fell across our driveway, the same tree as the branches decorating the loading dock. We placed this branch in a sap bucket full of water on the same day as we decorated the loading dock. The branch went from leafless (winter-dormant condition) to leaf-out (summer-ready) in fourteen days. We hope it remains so beautiful throughout the holidays. Without roots to supply the leaves with nutrients, the branch will eventually die, but it's a great reminder that spring is just around the corner!

If you would like to leaf out a branch for the holidays, like the one in the jar in front of Chelsea, just let us know. We've got plenty! And if you know anyone who'd like to learn about OneTree, let us know their name and how to contact them by emailing us at onetreealaska@gmail.com Thank you.

Last, but certainly not least, meet Shaun Johnson, the other half of our Sugar Master team. Shaun comes in two evenings a week to make birch caramel and syrup. Here he is cutting caramel pieces, getting them ready to wrap and package for you.

So, this is what we've been up to for the past 4-6 weeks. Let us know if you have any questions. And out-of-state friends, call us at 907-474-5717 to arrange for birch goodies to be mailed to you (flat box rate shipping charges apply).

Many thanks for your interest and support of OneTree. And from all of us here at OneTree, our very best wishes to you and your family this holiday season,

 Jan