Happy 2025! We’re already two months in and it’s worth mentioning the climate (can I even use that word?) has changed in the U.S.—and the world for that matter—that impacts the things I care about: biodiversity conservation and the community of humans that care about it.
LUCKILY, there are things I am doing already that make a difference, things that you can do too. Things that are already a part of what we do every day, like shopping and listening to podcasts, things not considered political, in fact things that are downright ordinary. And these things have meaningful impact for bird conservation within the framework of our current world status.
So go get ‘em! Live your life, engage in meaningful community, and save bird habitat and the birds that depend on it.
Shop for bird conservation
Buy Smithsonian Certified Bird Friendly® Coffee and Chocolate
You need your morning brew and your late afternoon chocolate pick-me-up anyway, right? You may as well buy coffee and chocolate that directly supports bird habitat conservation through the The Smithsonian’s Bird Friendly® eco certification. The Bird Friendly® label signifies 40 percent canopy cover concurrent with crop production, thus assuring sustainable bird habitat within an agroforestry model. It also mean organic and fair pricing for growers.
The Smithsonian’s Bird Friendly® certification applies to coffee and cocoa and can be found online to purchase retail. The Smithsonian has a robust list of coffee retailers at this link and you can purchase chocolates containing Bird Friendly® certified cocoa at these retailers below.
Buy Maple Syrup Produced in Bird-Friendly Habitats
Ever consider your weekend pancake habit could benefit bird conservation? You can now buy maple syrup from producers participating in bird-friendly forest practice similar to the Smithsonian Bird Friendly® and managed through Audubon Vermont.
Support these producers maintaining diverse canopy in their sugarbushes (the forests where maple is tapped), and look for this label:
The list of participating producers across New England includes Vermont, New York, Connecticut and Maine. Two producers i’ve purchased syrup from are below, Couching Lion from Vermont and Uihlein Forest Syrup (part of Cornell’s Sugar Maple Program) from New York.
A note about retail foodstuffs and meaningful eco-certification benefitting birds: Do not be fooled by “Shade Grown.”
“Shade Grown” is not the same as Bird Friendly®. “Shade Grown” is not a third party verified eco-certification. It is a descriptive compound word put on foodstuffs that might be grown with any (or zero) shade coverage, a claim made with no actionable proof in the same process as something that is certified Bird Friendly.®
Consumers are trained to believe that “Shade Grown” means forest coverage and birdsong in the same space as agriculture. Google and other search engines will lump “Shade Grown” and “Bird friendly” together in search results as if they mean the same thing. They do not mean the same thing.
If proven bird conservation is a motivation for your purchase, buy Bird Friendly® labeled coffee and cocoa, and Produced in Bird-friendly Habitats labeled maple products as identified.
Listen for bird conservation
You’re already listening to podcasts, right? Why not combine your listening with some learning about the above market-driven conservation initiatives? The below podcasts feature conversations and content about a life of birding beyond just birding, including me talking about bird friendly foodstuffs. Give them a listen!
Recreate for bird conservation
Have time on your hands? Want to make new friends and learn something new? Want to support eco-tourism that promotes birds and their protections? Attend your local birding festival, heck, come see me at the Cape May Spring Birding Festival in New Jersey in May, where I will talk about bird-friendly foodstuffs and participate in a round table about birding as a mother with birder friends Orietta Estrada, Georgia Silvera Seamans and Indigo Goodson-Fields.
Join a bird outing hosted by a nearby nature center or bird conservation organization. Or organize your own bird outing (as depicted in the leading photo of this post). If current state is getting you down, buck it by gathering among people who share your interest in and fascination for wild birds.
Learn more, and share
Read more about Bird Friendly® chocolate in my story for Jan/Feb 2025 BWD magazine. Contact me to speak to your class, organization, festival or podcast. Forward this email!
Human connection over a shared interest beats despair every time! And while we’re at it, I’ll bring coffee and chocolates (Bird Friendly®, of course).
All suggestions and statements in this post are my opinion, unsponsored, and backed by information available at the time of this writing.