December 11-15, 2026
PARROT
PILGRIMAGE
Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
We hope you will join us, for yourself, for life!
To express your interest, reserve your spot, or for more information please complete the Pilgrimage Form (after the video below).
There is an Island of Hope in Nicaragua, and it is called Ometepe. For over 13 years One Earth Conservation has been working with the local conservationists and they have built an amazing parrot conservation project with one of the densest populations of parrots in the Americas. Come be part of this conservation effort, healing yourself as you heal the world.
What is a Parrot Pilgrimage?
A parrot pilgrimage on Ometepe Island, led by LoraKim Joyner through One Earth Conservation, seeks to accomplish something much deeper than eco-tourism or even conservation fieldwork alone. It is designed as a transformative journey of solidarity, healing, and action—for parrots, for local communities, and for the participants themselves.
At its heart, the pilgrimage invites people to walk the volcanic landscape of Ometepe as an act of witness and relationship-building. Participants move around the slopes of Maderas Volcano, traveling through conservation communities where one of the Americas’ densest remaining populations of endangered yellow-naped amazons still survives. Along the way, they engage directly in conservation activities such as parrot counts, learning from local conservationists, and witnessing the realities of protecting parrots from habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade. These experiences help turn abstract concern into embodied understanding.
But the pilgrimage seeks more than awareness. It aims to cultivate inner transformation: helping participants move from spectatorship to belonging. Through guided reflection, shared dialogue, spiritual practice, and communal walking, the journey creates space to reconnect with the living world and to experience parrots not as objects of fascination, but as fellow beings with inherent dignity. This reflects One Earth Conservation’s larger philosophy of transformative conservation—recognizing that ecological healing requires a parallel transformation in human consciousness and relationships, as well as in societal transformation towards justice and equality.
The pilgrimage also seeks to strengthen cross-cultural solidarity. Participants learn directly from Nicaraguan conservationists and communities who have long protected these parrots, building relationships grounded in humility, reciprocity, and mutual respect. Educational activities with local children and community celebrations make the pilgrimage a shared act of hope rather than an outside intervention.
Finally, it seeks to inspire joyful advocacy. Pilgrims return home changed—carrying with them not only memories of wild parrots flying over the island that is surrounded by Lake Cocibolca, but a renewed sense of responsibility to challenge systems of exploitation, resist the wildlife trade, and live in what LoraKim often calls “unconditional solidarity” with all life.
In essence, the parrot pilgrimage seeks to help people discover that saving parrots is inseparable from learning how to live differently on Earth: with reverence, courage, connection, and collective care
Brief Overview of Logistics (we will send you a much more detailed document and guide you the whole way in making decisions and travel arrangements):
We will walk around the island for a total of 23 miles. The walking is mostly along a small country road, some of which is paved, with gentle hills and with some places being a bit rocky and muddy. We begin on Friday afternoon with counting parrots and then dinner and a cultural celebration at Playa Santa Domingo, where we will be staying. The next day we begin walking early by heading clockwise around the island. Our first stop is Balgue and then we will move to La Palma, San Ramon, Merida and then back to where we started. Each day we will walk, rest, share lunch, provide educational activities for the local children, and have optional tours that include kayaking, bird watching, hiking, swimming, and seeing local sites. At each stop we will be seeing parrots with breathtaking views of Lake Cocibolca (Nicaragua).
Rev. Dr. LoraKim Joyner will facilitate reflection and discussion times, as we learn about parrot conservation and the lives of the people in the Americas, with an emphasis on spiritual health, connecting to nature, and joyful action and advocacy in the world. Rev. Dr. Meredith Garmon, leader of One Earth Zen, will provide insights and spiritual practices from Zen Buddhism. We imagine this as a time for healing, as we move through shared mourning, and a lot of celebration! Fauna and Flora International Ometepe and BIOMETEPE are hosting the event, with support from One Earth Conservation.
Every individual will pay for their own travel to the island, hotel expenses, and meals, and then contribute $300 to cover the cost of the van that will accompany us around the island and return us each day to our hotels. You can come for only for a day or two but we hope you will stay with us the whole time. Read about previous pilgrimages:
A Video about the 2023 Pilgrimage