International Migratory Bird Day
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Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: May-15-2005 at 7:58am
It was yesterday, and was my day to volunteer at the Seattle Aquarium, so I staffed a booth with native plants, and had to explain why native plants are desirable for birds and wildlife. It was fun (but tiring, as I was at the booth from 10 am till 4:30 pm). The most interesting (and unexpected) question was "why should we drink shade grown coffee?" I guess it shouldn't have been unexpected, given Seattle's coffee culture! (Fortunately, I was able to answer the question.) The kids really liked the mallard duck nest and stuffed redwing blackbird we had. A couple of kids were already gardeners, and told me about the gardens they had at home or at school (great!).
We had some pamphlets with the Washington Native Plant Society info. We also had a list of plants that were valuable for wildlife. Can anybody think of other info that could be useful or interesting to people?
Barb
Wanda
Location: Puget Sound corridor
Posted: May-20-2005 at 1:54pm
Aaaack - don't keep us hanging? Why shade grown coffee? I have never heard that before!
I hope you told them about Lisa's Native Plant flash cards!
What fun to be a volunteer at the Aquarium! You are multi-talented!
-Wanda
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: May-20-2005 at 8:42pm
Why should we drink shade-grown coffee? Because the coffee bush is naturally a shade-lover. But coffee plantations cut down the rain forest where coffee grows best, under the canopy, and plant the bushes in full sun, so that it's easier to harvest (just like any large-scale crop). But the plants aren't as healthy in full sun--they need extra water, more fertilizer, are more susceptible to diseases and pests, thus needing more pesticides, as well. 70% of all the coffee grown in the world is actually grown on small, family-owned farms in the forests. They have small plots, and grow the coffee under the forest canopy. They may actually have several plots, here and there, with relatively few bushes in each location. Grown this way, the coffee is more labor intensive to harvest, and thus more expensive. However, it is grown with less water, and no fertilizer or pesticides needed (or at least, much less!).
Okay, coming off my soapbox now. I'll quit thumping my coffee-drinker's bible at you.
Unfortunately, I loaned Lisa's Flash Cards to a friend, and haven't gotten them back yet. I think it might be useful to have a flyer with reference materials--Lisa's Flash Cards, Kruckeberg's book, Ann Lovejoy has some good books. Russell Link's "Gardening With Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest." Can anybody think of some others?
It's been a lot of fun volunteering at the Aquarium--I started in 1984, when I first moved to Seattle.
Barb
JeanneK
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: May-21-2005 at 4:46pm
And, the best thing about shade grown coffee, is that they are not cutting down rainforest! LOL. That one is obvious, right!!
No bible thumping there, Barb. Just good info!
Jeanne
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton