The Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden is preparing for a busy fall season, with community events focused on conservation, recycling, wildlife and education.
Misha McRae, executive director of the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the garden.
The garden is currently seeking participants for its annual Scarecrows and Skeletons in the Forest exhibit and contest.
The event is open to community members, businesses, families and students who want to create a scarecrow or skeleton using recycled materials.
McRae said the annual event grew from the garden’s traditional scarecrow exhibit, with skeletons added to give the fall celebration a distinctly Key West twist.
The exhibit will run from the end of September through Nov. 30, with the public voting for the best entry.
“There is a lesson to be learned here,” McRae said. “This is a really fun and educational means to involve the community, reinvigorate the importance of the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden, and teach the world a little more about how we can recycle.”
The garden is also continuing its Nurture Saturday program on the third Saturday of each month. The program includes a plant sale, a children’s nature art workshop and demonstrations about composting.
McRae said the garden has now entered the third phase of its composting program, which includes a 24-hour drop-off for kitchen scraps.
Residents can register online to participate rather than waiting for the monthly Nurture Saturday event.
The program is a partnership involving the University of Florida Monroe County Extension Service, Monroe County Recycling and Waste Management, the city of Key West, and the garden’s education and nursery departments.
The program allows participants to contribute kitchen scraps and receive mulch produced through the composting process.
“It’s a way that means taking waste out of the dump,” McRae said. “But also emulating what goes on in the tropical forest every day, which recycles itself.”
The garden is also preparing for fall bird migration, with an early-morning Birding and Wildlife Adventure scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26.
The garden will open at 7 a.m. for the special event, giving visitors an opportunity to see birds that typically arrive during fall migration.
The garden has already identified more than 22 species of rare and unusual birds using the property as a stopover during migration.
“It’s a key example why this is fall migration, because the birds have landed,” McRae said.
The early opening also responds to repeated requests from visitors who have asked about early-bird hours at the garden.
Staffing normally makes it difficult to offer those hours, but the Sept. 26 event will provide an opportunity for visitors to experience the garden beginning at 7 a.m. Regular admission fees will apply.
McRae said visitors can register online or contact the garden for more information.
The garden is marking more than 90 years as the keeper of the trees in Key West and is the only frost-free botanical garden in the continental United States and contributions keep the garden going.
McRae pointed to the 99-year lease approved by Key West voters in 2022 as an indication of the community’s commitment to preserving the garden for future generations.
“It takes money. We are a nonprofit,” McRae said, adding that the organization does not receive operating support from the city or county.
Funding reductions have left the garden needing to make up approximately 22% of its budget.
He encouraged residents to become members, make donations to the garden’s annual fund and consider sponsoring upcoming events.
The garden’s fall schedule will also include its Screaming Green Halloween celebration for children. McRae said the safe Halloween event has been held for more than 15 years.
More information about upcoming events, membership, donations and sponsorship opportunities is available through the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden’s website here: https://www.keywest.garden/