Note 99/06/09: Café Audubon is not available at this time.

Building nationwide awareness about shade-grown coffee, the most bird-friendly brew, has become the passion of a 20-person committee of the Atlanta Audubon Society (AAS) of Georgia. The group formed in October, 1996, after chapter members attended a series of seminars by Dr. Russell Greenberg, of the Smithsonian Neotropical Migratory Bird Center, and Chuck Hunter, of Partners in Flight. Through research findings presented in the seminars they learned that neotropical birds are seeking shelter in shade coffee plantations, but are almost non-existent in sun coffee plantations.

Neotropical birds adorn the T-shirt created by Atlanta AS as one of their education tools about shade-grown coffees. -- by Richard Parks

Long-time AAS member Dr. Joe Greenberg (Russell's father) provided the leadership and vision the new group needed. They chose to counteract the trend toward sun-coffee cultivation by promoting traditional, more agriculturally-sustainable, shade-grown coffee. (For more info. on sun versus shade-coffee plantations, see article, "Shade-grown, Songbird's Own, Café Audubon") The Committee builds public and retail awareness by providing education on the advantages -- to coffee-growers and to the environment -- of shade-grown and organic agricultural practices.

The Committee's approach is three-pronged:

• provide retailers and organizations with information on the issue, and on sources of shade-grown coffees (SGC);
• market specially-designed T-shirts, bumper-stickers, and collectible pins with the SGC message; and
• publicize the issue to the larger community.

Committee members list and target local retailers potentially receptive to marketing shade-grown coffees and/or the "message products". Approximately 20 associations and retailers have participated to date! One local coffeehouse promotes the message, sells SGC, and donates to the Committee 25 cents for each pound of SGC sold. Atlanta bird artist Richard Parks created and donated the original design for their T-shirt, bearing the message, "Drink Shade-Grown Coffee -- for the Birds". (The shirt features nine North American species found on SGC plantations: the American redstart, the Cape May, magnolia, Nashville, Tennessee, and Wilson's warblers, and the northern parula, as well as two species on the WatchList: the black-throated blue and the golden-winged warbler.) Over 500 T-shirts have sold in 4 months!

Further, the group designed and markets a bumper-sticker and a collectible pin, featuring a bird perched on a coffee mug, and the slogan. The chapter's Web site presents literature on the SGC issue, and a photo of the T-shirt. Information on the shade-grown issue and a list of SGC retailers (including NAS's licensing partner for Café Audubon) accompanies each purchase.

In May of this year four conservation groups, including AAS, hosted a well-publicized Coffee Reception at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Atlanta). Seven shade- and organic-coffee roasters provided freshly-brewed coffee and information to over 400 attendees.

One year ago the Committee began with a local and state focus. The effort is now expanding to national and international levels, creating a steady flow of funds for reinvestment to further spread the word. AAS is willing to provide literature and wholesale prices on their SGC products (all are "generic"; none is specific to Atlanta Audubon) to any interested chapters for their help in spreading the bird-friendly, shade-grown coffee message.

For More Info, Contact: Sherry Anderson, 3150 Stone Oak Dr.; Douglasville, GA 30135; FAX: 770/499-2985; email: skanderson@bluecir.com, OR contact the chapter through their Web site at: http://www.atlantaaudubon.org.