Animal Writings

1 — Buy shade-grown coffee. Shade-grown or traditional coffee plantations do not cut down the forest canopy that provides refuge for over 150 species of birds, including some migratory species whose members you might see in your back yard.

Due to increasing demand for coffee, however, more and more plantations are clearing the forest, which presents a serious threat to bird species that winter in those forests or live in them year-round. Diversity of species as well as number of birds in "full-sun" coffee plantations plummets severely.

How do you know if your coffee is shade-grown? According to this article on shade-grown coffee, an increasing percentage of coffee farms in Columbia and Brazil — two popular sources of coffee — are not shade-grown. The same holds true for Costa Rica, though to a lesser degree. The article also notes that "[t]he coffees of Ethiopia, Sumatra, New Guinea, and Timor are virtually all shade grown. In Latin America, the coffees from southern Mexico, northern Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru, Panama, and Huehuetenango in Guatemala are primarily shade grown. Furthermore, most (but certainly not all) certified organic coffees are shade grown."

Check the label or inquire at your local coffee shop to be more sure. Most coffee companies have web sites which may provide further information.

2 - Don't "deadhead" all the flowers in your garden. Removing spent flowers may stimulate more blooms, which looks pretty and which bees and other pollinators may appreciate, but leave some flowers alone so they'll go to seed — the birds will like that.

Labels: birds, coffee, environment, gardening, lifestyle