Visitors & guests annually
We welcomed almost 28,000 visitors and program and event participants in 2025.
Education & Conservation
Just a few of our programs: StoryTime, the Native Plant Nursery, nature walks, Speaker Series, yoga, bird and butterfly census.
Garden Education Center Campaign
On Jan. 30, 2026, we launched our multimillion dollar Education Center campaign. The new facilities will include a new visitors center, classrooms and education areas for children and adults and provide a safe and secure space for generations of visitors.
100% of donations fund programs and facilities for children, youth and adults
The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden provides educational programs for all age groups and various levels of interest geared to Keys residents, tourists, plant, bird and butterfly experts and others. Join us in preserving the Garden’s ecosystems for a sustainable future.
The Education Center Campaign Project
From This to This | You can make it happen
Where we are now: Cramped space, mold, limited accessibility
Decades ago the Garden re-purposed an old quonset hut and adjacent wood structure into tiny office spaces and a fledgling education center. Located far away from the main garden and forest areas, those facilities have weathered hurricanes and climate damage. Not only do they no longer serve the needs of a growing garden and our expanding education programs, they are increasingly unsafe and unwelcoming for visitors and staff.
Our old Education Center
Trapped in a back corner of the Garden, the quonset hut has no space for classrooms, staff or education activities.
Cramped storage
It takes a lot of “stuff” to support events and education programs. What was once classroom space has become our storage unit.
Deteriorating infrastructure
Despite our best efforts with repair, maintenance and accessibility, our office infrastructure is no longer truly safe for visitors and staff.
Where we will be: Classrooms, welcome center, accessibility
The new facilities will be built in the vacant field adjacent to the Native Plant Nursery and near the Toppino Nature Chapel. Much needed visitor and event parking will be reconfigured and expanded, while preserving and enhancing our native plants, trees, exhibits, playground and environmentally-sensitive spaces. A new welcome center, library with reading nook, outdoor dining area, classrooms, public spaces and offices will be incorporated into the new center.
Serving the Florida Keys
From children’s and community programs to weddings and corporate events, the Garden’s new center will serve thousands of Keys’ residents and visitors each year.
Welcome to the Garden
The new center design blends seamlessly with our commitment to our native landscape. Scale, materials and design are intentionally reflective of our mission to preseve and enhance the sub-tropical Keys environment.
A center that works
Our design solutions provide a wide range of tools, features, and functionalities to ensure efficiency, accessibility and programming.
How we got here
It started with the 99-year lease
On Aug. 23, 2022, Key West voters overwhelmingly approved the Garden’s request for a 99-year lease with the city.
“When we approached the city commissioners, all six of them and the mayor were very supportive of this initiative,” Garden Executive Director Misha McRAE said in 2022. “We were on year six of a 10-year lease and in order for us to secure funding for capital improvements we needed to have a long term lease in place.”
The City Commission-sponsored referendum asked voters to approve a 99-year lease between the city and the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden. The referendum passed with a city record 91 percent approval rate.
The land is owned by the City of Key West. Because of city limitations on lease terms, the proposed 99-year lease must be approved by voters. The lease extension ensures the Garden can apply for long term grants to make much needed capital improvements.
K2M Design is our architectural design partner. Our architectural team includes Key West resident Heather Carruthers, K2M’s southeast region business development manager and Bonnie Kyle, lead architect. With K2M Design’s innovative and nimble team of over 120 experts strategically located throughout the country, it leads large-scale projects with a local purpose and connection.
Your donation ensures we continue to preserve, develop, expand and maintain the historic Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden as an arboretum, botanical garden, cultural heritage museum, wildlife refuge and educational center.
How You Can Help
Getting Involved
Become a Garden member
As a member of the Garden you receive free admission and early access to our most popular education and entertainment events.
Become a volunteer
Volunteers can choose to work in our welcome center, at the native plant nursery and Garden events and educational programs.
Make an Eduction Center Donation
Donors will be recognized by the Garden and will ensure we fulfill our mission to safeguard the fragile Keys ecosystems for generations to come.
