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For The Birds:
Shade-Grown Coffee And The Environment
Audubon certified organic, fair-trade, shade-grown coffee will be available at most of our member meetings for you to try out. Available are 12 oz. and 2 lb. sizes.
According to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center Fact Sheet, the forest-like environment of traditional coffee plantations provides sanctuary to over one hundred and fifty species of birds. In recent decades more "modern" plantations are growing coffee without a forest canopy. Over ninety percent fewer bird species are found when coffee is grown under these conditions. Although coffee yields are initially greater without a shade canopy, in the long run such yields are not sustainable without the intensive use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides. Trees grown under these conditions are less able to survive dry seasons and must be replaced much more frequently. Moreover, birds are only one indicator of biological diversity. Studies are showing that shaded coffee plantations are critical refuges for protecting a multitude of forest species where there is no longer any forest!
Where to Find Shade-Grown Coffee in Richmond
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Bird Watchers at Hull and Rt. 288. Phone: 763-3890
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Ellwood-Thompson at the corner of Ellwood and Thompson. Phone: 359-7525.
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Starbucks.
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Ten Thousand Villages in Carytown. Phone: 358-5170.
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Wild Birds Unlimited at 9778 Midlothian. Phone: 323-0353.
How can you help?
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Buy only shade grown coffee.
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Write letters to retailers requesting that they carry shade-grown coffee.
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Be sure it is shade grown, not all "organically-grown" coffee is shade-grown.
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Ask specifically for "shade-grown" coffee.
If you know of additional retailers who sell shade-grown coffee, please Email us and we will add them to our list.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/coffee/index.html
TO PURCHASE COFFEE DIRECTLY FROM NATIONAL AUDUBON ONLINE VISIT: www.auduboncoffeeclub.com/shop/home.php
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