Lowering overall consumption, reducing waste, and making ‘greener’ choices helps minimize your environmental footprint and benefits all wildlife.
Avoid food waste, buy food grown as locally as possible, and choose organic when you can. Market pressure is one way individuals can make a difference in changing harmful commercial practices. Four easy options that link directly with Canada’s birds:
Buy certified Bird-Friendly Coffee and help protect habitat for migratory songbirds that winter in coffee plantations across the tropics. Buying this coffee also supports the people who are growing coffee the bird-friendly way, which helps prevent the habitat from being lost to other land uses. Learn more on The Warblers podcast in the two-part interview series exploring the link between birds and coffee and the case for a bird-friendly coffee revolution.
If you choose to purchase Bird Friendly Certified Coffee from Birds and Beans and use the Promo Code BirdsCanada, 10% of the cost of your coffee will be donated to Birds Canada in support of bird conservation.
Western Meadowlark Photo: Amanda Shave
Support the conservation of grassland birds and buy grass-fed beef and dairy products that come from cattle grazed on grassland habitat, allowing ranchers to earn a living while keeping these ecosystems alive and thriving. Maintaining grasslands as “working landscapes” preserves them as bird habitat, preventing them from being lost to other land uses.
Photo: Rémi Torrenta
Use FSC certified paper and wood products. To be certified, producers of these products must meet standards for sustainable forestry that protects habitat for forest birds, including those that rely on Canada’s Boreal Forest.
Flesh-footed Shearwater Photo: Yousif Attia
If you or your pets enjoy seafood, choose products with generally trusted sustainability certifications like the Marine Stewardship Council and Ocean Wise. Learn more about how seabirds are affected by fishing practices here.
