The Pelham Beautification Committee is pleased to recognize the Bering family of White Meadows Farm on Effingham Street for their community and tourism initiatives, as well as their environmental and conservation resourcefulness.  Richard and Amanda Bering are the fourth generation of Berings to work the farm.  Initially started as mixed farming business with dairy cows, grapes and cash crops in the 1930’s, the farm has evolved into the now famous craft of manufacturing 100% pure maple syrup.

Richard explained, “dairy farming was the primary use of the 200 acre farm until his great-grandfather Adam, being bored one winter and looking for something to do, boiled up a few buckets of maple syrup from the abundance of sugar maple trees on our property just for fun, and the rest is history”.  Richard and wife, Amanda, have owned the property since 2019 and have turned the farm into a full-scale maple syrup manufacturing phenomenon.  Creating maple syrup is very energy intensive; therefore the Berings are always looking for environmentally friendly ways of producing and manufacturing their product.  “Wood fires are used to cook the syrup, cardboard boxes are reused and we are heavy on composting all of the refuse left over from the maple syrup and by-product production back into the soil”, Richard explains.

Visitors are welcome year round at the White Meadows Farm. There are a number of opportunities to experience the maple syrup tradition, including educational guided tours, lunch in the sugar bush and a stroll through the Maple Sweet Shop, where a number of handmade gourmet maple products are available for sale.  Amanda remarked, “we even grow popcorn for our famous Maple Kettle Corn”  and added that ,  “over the past decade we have noticed our farm becoming more and more a ‘one-day destination’ for travellers outside the region.  People from Windsor and other parts of Ontario come to our farm to experience the unique character, quality, history and craft behind Canada’s sweetest natural treasure – 100% pure maple syrup”.

There is lots to experience at the White Meadows Farm, especially this time of year when the sap is running.  People are encouraged to check out whitemeadowsfarms.com for more information.

The Pelham Beautification Committee is an advisory committee to Pelham Council.  The committee seeks to foster civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community involvement.  The monthly ‘Thank You’ card initiative is one of the Committee’s efforts to inspire the Town’s businesses, organizations and residents to exemplify ideals defined in the Beautification Committee’s Terms of Reference, available at www.Pelham.ca

The Pelham Beautification Committee will name a recipient each month.  Individuals are encouraged to submit potential recipient recommendations to the Pelham Beautification Committee at beautification@pelham.ca