Remember Parrot Jungle? I still have a photo of you and Ann with parrots on
your shoulders taken back in 1957. Parrot Jungle was located in the south
area of Miami, in a beautiful, natural park, with the largest banyan tree
I’ve ever seen. The park was located in a Dade County unincorporated area
that had the nickname of Sunnyland.

Now, Sunnyland has been incorporated as Pinecrest. No crest of pines there.
Never was. Even before the incorporation of Pinecrest, neighbors of Parrot
Jungle started complaining about noise, people, whatever. These are all
people who had knowingly bought property adjoining Parrot Jungle, which had
been there since 1936. Over the years, the area became desirable, and homes
there increased in price. New construction leaned toward the oversized and
expensive.

Then, Sunnyland residents wanted their own upscale city so their inflated
property taxes would all go to their own services, thus incrementally
crippling the ability of the County to make ends meet. In the process, the
Parrot Jungle land became Pinecrest Gardens, owned and operated by the City
of Pinecrest and Parrot Jungle was booted to Watson Island.

The Watson Island site had been mostly open, allowing great views of
Biscayne Bay. Also there was a beautiful Japanese Garden, complete with a
working Tea House. All of that went. Now, the rather ugly complex has been
renamed Jungle Island. Parrots and other animals are caged in an area less
than 1/10 of Parrot Jungle’s former size. Tickets to Jungle Island cost $30
for adults and 23.50 for children, thus costing a family of 4 over $100 to
waddle among the birds. Watson Island belongs to the City of Miami. It
was/is our island, but local residents get no break in the price.

How do these safe lawn people define “a 100 percent organic facility”? For
one thing, there is very little lawn there. Take a look from the air:
http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=jungle+island&hnear=Fort+Lauderdale,+FL&cid=0
,0,2159904502030708374&ei=8wIDS5bCFMrAngfe7Jl1&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image
&resnum=8&ved=0CCoQnwIwBw. To be fair, some good people were contracted from
the beginning to make the facility “green”. But the good stuff stops there.

Do they feed the birds and mammals organic feed? I’d bet a ton of organic
compost that they don’t. Do they serve organic food at their banquets,
weddings and the many other events they have there weekly? Do they compost
the kitchen waste? Do they recycle all their glass, plastic, cans, etc.? I’d
bet another ton of organic compost that all that waste goes directly to the
county landfill.

Activists of any cause need to take off the blinders so they can see the
whole picture. Zeroing in on the one good thing misses the point.