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I have tried to initiate a dialogue on several occasions w This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0116_01D06575.12475C70 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable 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