Forest Mill Farm
- Ginger Jenne
- Aug 18
- 3 min read
Once upon a time, there was a little girl in the woods who would follow her father around in late winter collecting maple sap from trees. During those cold winter days, they would boil the sap until it became syrup to enjoy throughout the year. She would watch as the magic of maple sugaring slowly created valuable memories that connected her to the land and her family.
This isn’t a fairy tale — it’s how Kelley and Brian, the founders of Forest Mill Farm, came to see maple syrup as a purpose for the 40 acres of woodland they rescued from development in Willington, Connecticut. Rooted in childhood wonder, a love for the outdoors, and a desire to preserve land, their story marries history and conservation.
When the parcel went up for sale as a proposed housing site, Kelley and Brian made a bold choice. They traded corporate careers for a sugarbush, bringing their skills as skills in technology and process improvement into this new venture. From the start, they committed to a sustainable maple syrup operation — measured not just in bottles, but in environmental care.
For them, sustainability means more than reducing carbon emissions. It’s about nurturing the small, vital corners of their woodland: habitats for birds and wildlife, native plants, and the unseen life in the soil. They remove invasive plants, encourage biodiversity, and protect the micro-ecosystems that call the forest home.
Their forest management supports more than sap production. Partnering with CT Audubon, they earned certification as an Audubon Connecticut Bird-Friendly Maple producer, ensuring practices that support songbirds and forest health. They harvest fallen trees for fuel and use reverse osmosis to cut boiling time and energy use, without compromising the amber sweetness of their syrup. All of this is essential as it takes at least 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.
They’ve also secured their land’s future through Connecticut’s PA 490 program, which protects it as forestland. Overlooking the Fenton River, the sugarbush provides vital habitat for deer, turkey, bobcats, and other wildlife while safeguarding watershed health. Even the farm’s name nods to history, honoring colonial-era mills that once lined the river.
Maple syrup isn’t their only harvest. Forest Mill Farm produces raw honey, managed with the same care as their sugarbush. They map their trees and tubing with geospatial technology for efficient infrastructure, reducing waste and extending the life of their system. Every step — tapping, boiling, bottling —ensures quality from start to finish.
They also think beyond the woods. Through the Connecticut Farm to School Program, Forest Mill Farm offers maple syrup delivery to schools statewide, making it easier for schools to sweeten meals without refined sugar. They’re also using solar power wherever they can, are transitioning syrup packaging to glass, and expanding their reach so more families can swap processed sweeteners for local alternatives.
It’s August — not the season most people think of maple syrup. But Kelley and Brian remind us that this local treasure fits right into summer meals. Why ship sugar from thousands of miles away when we can drizzle syrup or honey from just down the road? Using local sweeteners not only saves the energy used in cane sugar production and transport but also adds trace minerals and elements to our food.
Beyond syrup and honey, each summer they tend an organic “garden” of more than an acre of corn, tomatoes, squash, beans, and more. These are preserved through canning and freezing so that they have the freshest, most local ingredients that you could possibly want year-round. Anything that doesn’t get preserved? They go to neighbors and friends to richen their lives. Or if it’s past its prime, their flock of chickens help manage their seconds, to provide their home with rich healthy eggs.
When you buy from local maple producers like Forest Mill Farm, you’re not just buying sweetness — you’re supporting a cycle of conservation, community, and care. You’re helping protect woodland, feed pollinators, support bird habitats, and keep traditions alive.
The next time you pour maple syrup over pancakes or stir it into iced tea, pause for a moment. Taste the layers of the story — of land rescued, wildlife sheltered, neighbors nourished, and a magic of the woods being kept alive through Kelley and Brian.
To bring some of this local sweetness into your summer meals, you can source so much of what you need by finding farms in the Grown ConNECTed Farm Fresh Food guide (www.growncoNECTed.org). If you can’t get to Forest Mill Farm, there are other great maple producers who still have plenty of syrup in our corner of the state. And to find the last of the local blueberries this summer, check around some of the amazing fruit farms for the perfect blueberry pie.
