Misha McRae, executive director of the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the garden.
A scarecrows mentor program is coming up in the garden.
McRae said, “This is in conjunction with our annual Scarecrows in the Forest exhibit that we do starting in September. We’re doing a mentorship program. We’re looking for an art mentor to work with a group of kids to go through the creative process to design and to build a scarecrow for the exhibit coming in September, but there’s a catch. It has to be all natural, recycled, repurposed or reused materials. In other words, you can’t buy something, you have to go build it. It’s a great program. We’ve done it before. We’re looking for one artist to come and step in. It’s a three, three, three deal, we’re looking for a mentor to come in for three hours for three weeks to create a scarecrow. We want you to go through the garden. We all want them to go through mama’s closet, to the garage, wherever it is, and find something to make up. You might be aware that the annual scarecrow exhibit is really popular down here, mainly because it’s unusual for Key West. There really isn’t a winter type thing like we would have anywhere else. But it is really a big surprise for our guests who come through the garden to find scarecrows.”
The 14th annual Art in the Garden exhibit has been going on since April.
McRae said, “I want everyone to have that opportunity to come out to see a really rare and unusual collection of art. Once again using that recycled, reused, repurposed ideology. We have local artists and out of county artists that actually come in, get an idea, create an art piece, put it in the garden. We currently have 30 different art sculptures throughout the garden to see all unique, all original and all very, very interesting. So you have until July 31 for that opportunity to catch a glimpse of creative art at its best.”
Weed warriors are needed.
McRae said, “Everyone says how’s the garden growing? I’m not quite Mary Mary, quite contrary, but it’s really growing well. The forest loves the rain. Everything has got its vibrant colors and everything’s uplifted to the skies. Unfortunately, we have the weeds attacking us at the ankle. So we’re looking for volunteers to come in and be weed warriors, and help us tackle the weeds, to clean some places up as we need to do as a volunteer organization since 1936. Volunteers are angels of our forests and the guardians of the garden. So we’re looking for those volunteers to come in. Our program’s Wednesdays and Saturday mornings, from nine to noon. Pretty easy to do.”
A fundraiser for the education department has been ongoing at the garden to get the department moved out of their trailer.
McRae said, “It was a construction trailer that was brought in way back in 2006. It’s outlived its usefulness, the poor thing, it’s time to put it down. Our education department has grown. When we started it back in 2006, and coined the phrase Living Lab, we only catered to third and fourth graders. Now we do pre-K all the way up to first year college. They need a facility that not only facilitates office for educators, but also classrooms, indoor classrooms for the students and it’s going to be designed right across from our native nursery, which has become our lab and we’re looking for contributions to help us build this. It’s going to be close to a million dollar project. So I’m reaching out to the community. Children are our future. One of these students are going to be the ones that kind of come back and fill my shoes because they fell in love with this garden. So we’re looking for the community to help us do this project. Get the Monroe County School District in the garden on a regular basis and have a facility worthy of the historic Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden.”
Donations always help the garden.
McRae said, “We are a 501C(3), tax deductible donations. Your donations go directly to the protection of this garden. Our collection of 545 native species of plants, add the birds, the butterflies and everything else with it and then the education program, the children as well. We grow more than just plants out here. The kids have been coming here since pre K, all the way up through high school, some of them. So your donations help float the boat if you want to call it, tax deductible, we appreciate anything and everything. But the main thing that I think is always important, if you want to learn more, if you want to be involved and participate, becoming a member and giving a donation is giving us your signature, saying that you support this incredible cause that we’re doing.”
There are various levels of membership in the garden.
McRae said, “Membership has its privileges, please go out to the website and click the member tab and it’ll give you all the information, you can go directly online to do it. It’s good for a year. It is also tax deductible. You get free access to the garden, to everything except our fundraisers, special invitations from me for any and all events, as well as special membership luncheons, and stuff like that. But the main point is that you will be supporting this great organization.”
A research project is coming up.
McRae said, “I am so excited. It’s going to be the first. We are working in conjunction with the University of Florida Extension Service, and the Monroe County Recycle and Waste Management Department, as well as the Key West urban forestry. We’re starting a composting research project. We’re looking for the public to help us with it. We are installing five different demonstration ways of doing composting at your home and we’re going to do a student research project to see which is best for our region. It gives everyone an opportunity to see options, how easy or how difficult, the best results, the worst results. It’s a way to get everyone involved, learn about composting, and not just dropping it off, actually doing it at your home. It’s all doable, very excited about it. It’s going to be a great opportunity, not only for the community to learn, but I’m thinking it’d be great opportunity for this botanical garden to make a statement that we are about the environment. We’re all about preservation and conservation and composting is part of that reuse, repurpose, recycle.”
The garden is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily Monday through Sunday.
McRae said, “The only two days we’re closed is Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Thanks once again to the Key West voters, 2022 voted us a 99 year lease. So we just started our second year of that 99 lease, so the garden has been here for 88 years and we know it’s going to be here for another 97. So be part of it. Participate. Come and enjoy. And this is one of the last remaining free space, open spaces here in the Keys.”
For more information on the garden, click here: https://www.keywest.garden/