The sap can also be collected in late winter and early spring, preferably when days are warm and nights are cold, and boiled down into maple syrup and maple sugar. Though all maples produce sap, the sugar maple's is undoubtedly the most famous. These Wellesley maples used to be tapped, but aren't anymore. When trees are tapped too much, they don't have sufficient sap for their own uses, and suffer. Holes actually increase the value and usefulness of the tree by allowing it to support other species.
Woodpeckers peck holes in trees to get at insect food.
In winter, especially, many animals take shelter in holes and hollow trees. Most of the trees lining this path are old, dating back to Wellesley's early days. However, there are a few saplings that have been planted where old trees have died. Let's cut off to the left here, and walk across College Road to see a tree that's the only survivor of a generation.