29 Sep 2000
IMBD Coffee Theme Announced
International Migratory Bird Day, a day when the inter-American character of migrant birds of our hemisphere is celebrated, will be on the second Saturday in May. In 2001, it will be May 12th.
The theme for IMBD 2001 will be shade-grown coffee and its benefits for songbirds. The organizers for IMBD believe that shade-grown coffee is a consumer-driven initiative whose time has come. "Bird walk breakfasts, lectures, festivals, and other IMBD activities are an excellent opportunity to share information about the benefits of shade-grown coffee and for encouraging increased supply and demand." The IMBD 2001 materials will be designed to help spread the word about birds and shade-grown coffee.
The benefits of tropical shade plantations for wildlife, the benefits to local peoples, and the quality of shade coffee are all well-documented. Getting shade coffee back into the mainstream (30 years ago, most coffee was shade-grown) will depend on educating the consumer. For more information on the IMBD 2001 theme, visit the recently expanded IMBD website at http://birds.fws.gov/imbd.html and http://birds.fws.gov/imbd/coffee.html.
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