"Tango" Blue and gold macaw with his girlfriend "Bailey" Greenwing macaw at Higgs Beach, our parrots favorite beach in Key West.
NANCY FORRESTER'S SECRET GARDEN
KEY WEST PARROTS
Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden is an educational sanctuary for orphaned parrots located at 518 Elizabeth St, Key West, FL. We rescue, rehome, and train parrots. We have been welcoming the visiting public for 30 years. We are the smallest in size parrot sanctuary in the US, one of the very first to emerge 30 years ago and one of a very few sanctuaries that offer in person education to the public on a daily basis. We specialize in macaws. We have eight different species of macaws and two hybrids. Our mission is to stop parrot abuse. We emphasize Adopt - Do Not Shop. We adhere to the highest standards of care.
We are open to the public everyday 10 to 3.
Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden, 518 Elizabeth Street, Key West, Florida 33040
$10 each adult, $5 each child 5 to 11
Storytelling 10 to 11 by Nancy or volunteers Sean, Carol and Michele
We strive to always have an educator on hand however at times your visit may reguire self-guiding
Hope to see you soon!
Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden, 518 Elizabeth Street, Key West, Florida 33040
$10 each adult, $5 each child 5 to 11
Storytelling 10 to 11 by Nancy or volunteers Sean, Carol and Michele
We strive to always have an educator on hand however at times your visit may reguire self-guiding
Hope to see you soon!
Moluccan cockatoos
EDUCATIONKnowledge helps stop the abuse of parrots. Volunteer educator, storyteller, and parrot trainer Michele Dodd is introducing our Cockatoos Molly, Mr. Peaches and military macaw Skylar to an audience of sixty children at the Monroe County Library. Cockatoos are the loudest animal on the planet. Patricia Blanco, the children's librarian has invited the Toos to scream to their hearts content. Which usually means hands over ears. Teaching Parrot 101 to kids helps stop parrot abuse. |
Scarlet macaw
ENRICHMENT Parrots are highly social animals. They need lots of special attention. and out of cage time to be mentally and physically healthy. Variety is the spice of life. Our friend and longtime volunteer Jerry Kemler treats our macaws to bike rides most Sundays when he is is town. Jerry has crafted his bike with a special perch just for riding the parrots. Scarlet macaw "Lucy" (a boy bird) is returning home from his ride around town. |
Military macaw
TRAININGMilitary macaw Skylar is very smart and eager to learn. He looks forward to "going to school" everyday. He has learned to touch a target stick softly with his beak (I use a plastic chopstick) when he does it correctly the sound of a clip happens and a food treat follows. I use a simple clicker that you can get at any pet store. He works for small pieces of food like dried fruit or pine nuts. He is also learning human sign language and audible voice cues |
OUR GOALParrots are disappearing in the wild and are vastly overbred in captivity for the pet trade. We are changing that. |
Moluccan Cockatoos, Molly and Mr. Peaches at Higgs Beach
People know me as the "The Parrot Lady". Sometimes Labels can do harm. Most people do not know that I am first and foremost an environment artist and sustainability activist. I have worked my entire life to stop the mass extinction of plants and animals and to mitigate the climate crisis. My lifetime of art includes numerous art mediums from painting canvases to site specific art and performance. My present work is devoted to stopping parrot abuse. Choosing unwanted pet parrots that were abandoned on my property to be the subject of my environmental message thru the art of Storytelling is the best decision I have ever made. Creating empathy for their plight brings attention and hopefully action to all the environmental issues I deeply care about. This work has brought me a larger audience. I am the happiest I have ever been.
First Let'sDiscover
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela
"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery" Mark Van Doren "The art of Storytelling is the oldest art known to man." |
Now let's WORKConserve
“We the people of the planet Earth,
with respect for the dignity of each human life, with concern for future generations, with growing appreciation of our relation to the environment,with recognition of limits to our resources and with need for adequate food, air, water, shelter, health, protection, justice, and self-fulfillment, hereby declare our interdependence; and resolve to work together in harmony with our environment to enhance the quality of life everywhere.” — Russell Peterson, Declaration of Interdependence, 1973 |
IT'S UP TO USChange
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