2019 Fox Squirrel Corn Maze Off to a Strong Start

Planning and preparing a corn maze takes time, work, and effort. This year, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) in Dover, Florida, offered two $1,000 scholarships to students at the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation in Plant City to help design and prepare the Fox Squirrel Corn Maze. We’d like to thank FSGA for its participation and donation of the scholarships.

Betty A. Morris, a full-time Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analyst, and Tim C. Jaskiewicz, a full-time professional surveyor, both work for multi-disciplined engineering firms and have years of experience. They are also pursuing a degree in Geomatics.

When they first started working on the maze, they knew and understood the need for speed. They started planning as early as May, when they first met with Janet and Carson Futch to discuss the time frames and maze parameters. They also discussed path dimensions and safety rules. After the meeting, they immediately began working on plans for the design of the maze.

They went to the field to set up a new control monument and collect all the existing features so they make the appropriate adjustments to the design and figure out all the field materials they would need to complete the project.
They worked consistently and were ready for planting by June 6. After planting, they begin to put out a variety of colored flags to mark off each path correctly according to the design and get it ready for the first mowing by June 29.

Betty then came out on July 4 to pick up the flags and make sure everything was going according to plan. She also came out several times to visit the site and fly the drone to get an aerial image of the field so she could submit it to their professor to be graded for their senior project.

All of this work made for a combined time of 142 hours invested in the project before July even started. While there is still a lot more work to be done and plans to be finalized before opening day, we are incredibly thankful for all the hard work Betty and Tim have put in so we can embrace the maze’s challenge this fall.

 

Home To The Fox Squirrel Corn Maze

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