“Tapping” jokes inevitable as city allows environmentalists to make syrup from inner-city maples

The city has officially backed down from its stance on tapping inner-city trees for sap. A few weeks ago, we reported that the powers that be were turning down requests from environmentalists wishing to extract the gooey goodness from maple trees in local parks. Beth McEwen, the city’s forest and natural environment manager, even warned that people would have to pay a fine if they damaged a tree. But now, Laura Reinsborough’s Not Far From the Tree initiative has been given the green light, and several trees have already been tapped. The sap will be boiled over the weekend and served at a tasting event in Dufferin Grove Park on Sunday from 1 p.m to 4 p.m.

It’s hard not to applaud this sort of thing. After all, if the couches at city hall can bear witness to the joys of tapping, why can’t the average Torontonian?