[NatureNS] more on Birds and Coffee

From: "Dave&Jane Schlosberg" <dschlosb-g@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2015 14:24:28 -0300
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I have tried to initiate a dialogue on several occasions w
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I=E2=80=99ve seen Kicking Horse here in Dartmouth.  I can=E2=80=99t =
remember if it was Sobeys or Superstore though. =20
My question is, if the coffee is certified organic, can we assume that =
there is a reasonable bird habitat on the plantation?  I=E2=80=99ve read =
that =E2=80=9Calmost all=E2=80=9D organic coffee is shade-grown, and I =
presume the growers could not have mono-culture fields (Although some =
shade-growers do practice mono-culture.).  I=E2=80=99m wondering why the =
area=E2=80=99s roasters (Just Us, Laughing Whale, Anchored) are not =
telling us about the beans they=E2=80=99re sourcing.  Both Just Us and =
Laughing Whale are certified organic.
Jane

From: John Kearney=20
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2015 7:01 AM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
Subject: RE: [NatureNS] more on Birds and Coffee

Hi All,

Thank you James, Kate and Nancy for your informative and proactive posts =
on the topic of birds and coffee.

=20

There is an excellent website by Julie Craves that is a comprehensive =
source of information on this issue: http://www.coffeehabitat.com/

=20

I wish to emphasize again the importance of independent certification of =
forest-grown, bird-friendly coffee. As pointed out on Julie=E2=80=99s =
website, there is at the current time only one certification that has =
the strong standards required for bird conservation. This is the =
certification by Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. More about this =
certification can be found at her website by clicking on the =
=E2=80=9CCertifications=E2=80=9D tab at the top of the page.

=20

So far, this listserv has identified two Canadian suppliers offering at =
least one blend of Smithsonian certified bird-friendly coffee: Birds and =
Beans, and the Atwood Blend of Balzac Roasters. Both are in Ontario but =
ship to Nova Scotia. We have yet to identify a Nova Scotia-based =
supplier.

=20

John

=20

From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca =
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of N Robinson
Sent: March-22-15 19:57
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] more on Birds and Coffee

=20

On the coffee front, I see that Kicking Horse sells only shade-grown =
coffee as well.  It can be ordered online.

http://www.kickinghorsecoffee.com/en/story/ideas/organic

Nancy

=20

On Sat, Mar 21, 2015 at 9:25 PM, N Robinson <nrobbyn@gmail.com> wrote:

Check this out - Balzac's sells fair trade coffee that is not =
necessarily bird friendly, but now they have the "Atwood Blend" (as in =
Margaret Atwood) that is bird-friendly, in support of Point Pelee!

http://www.balzacs.com/about/atwood-blend/

=20

Nancy

=20

On Sat, Mar 21, 2015 at 7:36 PM, Kate Steele <katefsteele@gmail.com> =
wrote:

Thanks, John and James for starting this discussion!=20

I agree with you, John - I wish they had have put in a 'plug' for the =
bird-friendly certification. I have also attempted to speak with the =
folks at Just Us about getting the certification, but they never =
responded to my phone calls or emails. I would certainly be willing to =
pay more for a certified bird-friendly product to help cover the cost of =
acquiring the certification.=20

James: Great ideas! I'm very proud to say that the Nova Scotia Bird =
Society serves Just Us coffee at our meetings. To my knowledge, there is =
nowhere in Nova Scotia where certified bird-friendly coffee can be =
purchased, but I do drink Birds and Beans that was purchased online. I =
thought I heard once that the NSBS did have a program at one point where =
bird-friendly coffee was purchased en masse and distributed to our =
members - someone correct me if I have that wrong. I think the best goal =
to focus on would be to have bird-friendly coffee available to purchase =
more widely - either by bringing Birds and Beans to Nova Scotia, or by =
having Just Us certified bird-friendly. Chris and I watched Songbird SOS =
on Thursday evening (as I hope many others did) with Chris' mom, who has =
since decided that she would like to start drinking Bird and Beans to =
help save the birds (she currently drinks Just Us). If a non-birder =
thinks it worthwhile, I think there's hope!

In 2014 I made it my New Year's resolution to drink only bird-friendly =
coffee or the next-best thing - I was successful and have maintained it =
in 2015 as well, but I never thought to write a blog!

Kate

=20

On Sat, Mar 21, 2015 at 3:53 PM, James Churchill =
<jameslchurchill@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi folks,=20

I have not yet seen the doc.=20

I agree the topic of bird friendly coffee  is an extremely important =
one. I know the NS Bird Society has discussed it on occasion. BNS has =
not yet. There needs to be more discussion/awareness of differences in =
certifications and brands in terms of their benefit to birds, and where =
and how we can introduce more bird friendly coffee into our days and =
events of our organizations.=20

=20

As a member of the BNS program committee, in addition to currently =
trying to line up a screening of 'The Messenger' documentary in the area =
(followed up by discussion), I'd like to help get some more discussion =
going around bird friendly and 'Bird Friendly' coffee too. This could =
include, among other things, an invited speaker for one of our monthly =
meetings.

=20

Our groups/organizations could be promoting bird friendly coffee by:

- serving it at our events

- encouraging local fair trade coffee companies to seek 'bird friendly' =
certification

- writing up a promotional one-pager we can distribute to highlight the =
benefits=20

- making web maps of locations in NS where bird friendly coffee can be =
bought when out birding and need a caffeine fix - start with our birding =
hotspots

- donating bird friendly coffee to events held by other groups (e.g., =
town meetings, school groups)

- subsidizing shipment of bird friendly coffee to the area from Birds =
and Beans or other certified companies (e.g., 'order bird friendly =
coffee through BNS or the NSBS or Bird Studies Canada and receive a 15% =
discount'); for organizations we could consider this as a donation/ =
investment for bird conservation

- starting a listserv or Facebook group devoted to constructive =
discussions around this

- putting a blurb on our webpages

=20

- it could also be a great topic for a blog or yearly challenge: a big =
bird-friendly coffee year (writing about daily challenges finding it, =
discussions with people etc), or "a year without Tim's".

=20

If you have other ideas on speakers or opportunities BNS could be =
involved in, please pass them along here, to Jameslchurchill@gmail.com, =
or the BNS Facebook group.

=20

Thanks to John for initiating this conversation.=20

=20

Cheers,=20

=20

=20


On Saturday, March 21, 2015, John Kearney <john.kearney@ns.sympatico.ca&g