Bird-friendly coffee is shade-grown and harvested under the canopy of mature trees, reflecting a process of how coffee was historically grown.
This way of growing coffee gets its name from being cultivated to maintain bird habitats instead of clearing vegetation that birds and other animals rely on.
Three-quarters of the world’s coffee farms destroy forest habitat to grow coffee in the sun and often use harmful pesticides and fertilisers that poison the environment.
Ultimately, when forests are destroyed, migratory songbirds disappear too.
In order to combat population and habitat loss, Smithsonian scientists created the ‘Bird Friendly’ certification.
The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in the United States has developed the only 100% Organic and Shade Grown coffee certification in the world called ‘Bird Friendly Certification’.
Firstly, the coffee is certified ‘Organic’, which means managing a healthy soil base, and no additional harmful pesticides are added to the coffee that could harm the environment. This helps reduce the billions of pounds of harmful chemicals injected annually into natural ecosystems that support wildlife and communities.
Secondly, a variety of native shade trees are grown throughout the coffee plantation. The combination of foliage cover, tree height, and animal diversity provides suitable migratory bird habitat while maintaining productive farms.
Producers must be re-certified every 3 years to ensure they continue to meet these requirements to be called ‘Bird Friendly’.
The certification means growers can sell their produce at market price premiums, and the timber and fruit trees on shade coffee farms provide farmers with additional income.
SHADE GROWN COFFEE
So, what is shade grown coffee? Traditionally, coffee was grown commercially under other trees that provided shade.
A canopy of assorted types of shade trees is created to cultivate shade-grown coffee, which incorporates principles of natural ecology to promote natural ecological relationships.
The forest-like structure of shaded coffee farms provides habitat for a number of migratory and resident birds, and other organisms.
This is in its most natural wild state as coffee much prefers shade in the heat of the tropics.
However, since the 1970’s, new sun-tolerant coffee plants have been developed with the aim to yield higher production rates to produce larger yields through higher-density, open planting over huge areas of land.
Unfortunately, these cultivation practices of open planting are counter to sustainable practice and destroy the land through overexposure to the sun and have a negative impact on the environment.
Since then, it has affected bird populations in North America, which have declined by approximately 2.9 billion birds. That is a loss of more than one in four birds.
Factors in this decline include habitat loss and ecosystem degradation from human actions on the landscape.
This is why the re-introduction of the concept of ‘Shade Grown Coffee’ is so important and to grow this movement towards greater biodiversity on our coffee plantations.
Every ‘Bird-friendly Coffee’ sold supports farmers as well as preserve nature and protects the environment.
