Ayyám-i-Há Day 2

Mom gave me some Sanctuary shade grown coffee! Shade grown coffee is better because there's no need to clear-cut forests. Native trees in shade-grown coffee plantations make the soil better and protect the birds who also help with pest control. Leaving native trees intact on coffee plantations also creates less soil erosion, and shade-grown coffee doesn't require nasty chemicals--which means less toxic runoff.

In regions most heavily used by migratory North American birds--Mesoamerica, the Caribbean islands, and Colombia--coffee plantation forests cover almost half of the permanent cropland. The declining songbird population in the western hemisphere is directly related to clear-cutting for sun-grown coffee. Traditional, shade-growing coffee plantations don't require clear-cutting. And shade-grown coffee tastes better too. Like the difference between an heirloom tomato and a big mealy one at Safeway.

There's more info about bird-friendly coffee at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

Also, please note that a Kiwi hatched at the National Zoo on February 13. And yes, there's a "Kiwicam."

Hooray for fair trade organic shade-grown coffee! Yay Mom! I'll have some first thing tomorrow morning!