Shade-Grown Coffee

• Migratory birds and many resident birds find sanctuary in the forest canopy of traditional coffee plantations.
  
  
• Shade trees protect the plants from rain and sun, help maintain soil quality, and aid in natural pest control, thanks to the birds.
  
  
• Traditional coffee plantations help to conserve watersheds, leading to higher water quality and quantity for local populations.
  
  
• Shade-grown coffee is cultivated in specific ways that help protect biodiversity.
  
  
• Shade coffee plants can produce crops of beans for up to 50 years.
  
  

   Sun-Grown Coffee

• 90% fewer bird species are found in sun-grown coffee areas compared with shade-grown coffee areas.
  
  
• Requires chemical fertilizers and pesticides and year-round labor, placing financial demands on the growers.
  
  
• Leads to greater soil erosion and higher amounts of toxic runoff endangering both wildlife and people.
  
  
• Sun coffee plants produce crops of beans for only 10 to 15 years.
  
  

 Click a "coffee" bird to view a larger image!
 All photos by James F. Flynn, Jr.