Family displaced by Fort McMurray wildfires starts ecotourism business in N.B.

John Fletcher always wanted to raise his family inMiramichi, N.B., but the move backfrom Alberta happened sooner than planned when the Fort McMurraywildfires in 2016 forced him, his wife Natalie and their two children (a third has since arrived) to evacuate their home.

As the ashes settled on their old lives in Fort McMurray, they came back to be with family in Miramichi. As fate would have it, a house came up for sale that backed right up on the land long-owned by his farming family.

"And I said, OK, we're going to get this corn maze going."

The idea to make a corn maze in a hayfield on his family's farm has been in the back of Fletcher's mind for 10 years.He'sthe fourth generation of the Fletcher family to farm the land in the community of Nelson, inMiramichi.

Fletcher, isn't interested in the traditional farming of his grandfather and great-grandfather. His passionlies in eco-tourism, the chance to develop the land in a way that others can enjoy it.

"I spent about a year and a half really researching, reading, watching, listening to podcasts everything about corn mazes, running businesses, contacting consultants and basically here we are today."

His wifeNatalie, an engineer, has supported the idea all along.

"I love everything about it. I mean why not. It's the most perfect opportunity, We have all this and it brings the family together and we're outdoors people."

Fun and games

With the "Discover Miramichi" themed corn maze scheduled to open Labour Day weekend, Fletcher, who also works as a mental health therapist, said he'll be busy over the next month getting everything ready.

Hehas two mazesinthe field, one for adults and one for children, and they're not just meant to be entertaining, they're meant to be educational too.

Using a game sheet, visitorswill work their way through various stations answering questions about the communityor learning about animals.

As a former teacher, he's also designed a curriculum to allow schools and groups to access the maze during the week.

"It's a cool way, especially with technology today, to get kids back outside and learn a little bit about agriculture which a lot of people are disconnected from."

When asked why he picked a Miramichitheme for his corn maze in its inaugural year, Fletcher said it was his way of saying thank you to his home town after having been away for a decade.

"This place has given me so much so I'm just a proud Miramichier and year one we wanted to give back."