Here is a press-release from the Santa Barbara Zoo:

The Santa Barbara Zoo is proud to announce its “migration” to serving bird-friendly coffee, just another way it is increasing its efforts to support a more biodiverse, sustainable world.

Historically, coffee grows best under a canopy of trees (shade), which provide a natural habitat for a wide variety of species – one of the most important being birds. But in the 1970s, as demand for coffee grew, the practice of sun grown coffee rapidly developed. This was appealing to producers as it resulted in higher yields, but unfortunately this process brought about heavy deforestation, effectively damaging the birds’ ecosystem. The bird population in the United States and Canada has declined by almost 30% — a total loss of 3 billion birds — across biomes since 1970 with habitat loss as a driving force.

Bird-Friendly coffees are shade grown, which means the coffee is planted under a canopy of trees rather than land that has been cleared of all other vegetation. They also have the strictest conservation requirements for tree canopy cover required of any coffee certifications. The Bird-Friendly stamp is a double certification because the coffee also meets organic requirements, meaning the beans are grown without the use of chemical pesticides that are harmful to the environment. Simply put, Bird-Friendly coffee comes from farms that provide good, forest-like habitat for birds and other wildlife.

The Santa Barbara Zoo is now proudly serving Ampersand Coffee, which is certified Bird-Friendly, so when you have a cup of coffee at the Zoo you’ll know you are helping the environment with each delicious sip. You can also take home a bag ($16.95/ea) of Ampersand Coffee from the Zoo’s Gift Store and help save wildlife from the comfort of your own kitchen.