The Great American Backyard Campout!

Campfires, stargazing, fireflies...there's nothing more summer-y than a good ol' fashioned campout. Whether it be in a backyard, park, beach, treehouse, or whatever, the feeling of falling asleep under the stars with a slight nighttime breeze and open air is...well, awesome.

With school just ending, and the official start of summer fast approaching (Tuesday June 21st, at 1:15 pm to be exact), there's no better way to appreciate the season in all its glory than by shaking out those old tents and spending a night outdoors. 

Ah, but there's always excuses. The family tent is 3 generations old, and pitching it one more time to shake out the mold might just be the last thing it ever does...the backyard can barely fit the flower garden, let alone a horde of people overnight...the neighbors don't want to be woken up at all hours of the night by excited camping kids...one more trip to the store for cooking and s'more supplies is one trip too many...ya, we get it.
Lucky for everyone, there's an opportunity to put all excuses aside and participate in:

The Great American Backyard Campout!

On Saturday, June 25th, all are invited to participate in this event, funded by the National Wildlife Federation. It can be alone in a backyard, or with a community in one of the many sponsored campsites. To find an area - or find out more information, check out the NWF website: http://online.nwf.org/site/PageNavigator/gabc_2010_home.

Honey Hollow is a registered campsite, with the fun starting at 7pm. ( http://www.bcas.org/BCASEvents.htm) Please call ahead to register.

Invasives: coming soon to a habitat near you

Its springtime - time for planting, gardening, weeding, rains, picnics, and insects. But unfortunately, it is also the time for (drumroll) the takeover of habitats by invasive plants!

Invasive plants: aka non-native species that flourish and out-compete natives in a region.
Potential problems: changing the pH of soil, blocking sunlight and resources to the understory of native plants, reducing biodiversity, and consequently reducing the amount of food sources and habitat for wildlife (including birds).

According to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), there are 60 known invasive plant species in Pennsylvania, and no region is excluded. They are present in the form of trees, shrubs, vines, and aquatics, successfully taking over in fields, forests, and waterways. These species include (but are not limited to) Water Chestnut, Norway Maple, Multiflora Rose, Garlic Mustard, Dames Rocket, and Mile-a-Minute Weed. For full listings and removal techniques, check out the DCNR website at: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/invasivetutorial/List.htm

Coffee! Shade-grown and bird-friendly?

Eco-conscious, sustainable, new-age hippies have been preaching the benefits of shade grown coffee for a while now, enjoying their Starbucks "organic shade grown Mexico" blend (http://www.starbucks.com/coffee/whole-bean-coffee/latin-america/organic-shade-grown-mexico),

and protesting "sun-grown" mainstream brews such as Folgers and Dunkin Donuts.

But it's not just the earth saving activists that should be concerned...

It's also the birders. Shade-grown coffee (among other benefits which include long term sustainability, land conservation, increased biodiversity, soil protection, carbon sequestration, etc) also produces a haven for migratory and tropical birds by protecting and creating habitat. A recent article in Audubon http://audubonmagazine.org/features1105/food.html takes an in-depth look at small shade-grown coffee farms (also called fincas) in Nicaragua, and notes the positive impact these farms are having on populations of Golden-winged warblers (a Federal Species of Special Concern in the U.S., due primarily to habitat loss and degradation). And it's not just one warbler that's being impacted; it's half the global population of warblers, who winter in coffee growing regions of Nicaragua. It's also 100s of other songbirds who use regions of Central and South America as critical wintering habitat. In fact, Audubon found that "coffee plantations with a diverse canopy cover of greater than forty percent are 2nd, only to undisturbed forest, in terms of bird species richness." One finca alone counted over 280 different bird species, 7 of which are globally threatened.

With increased habitat comes increased birds, but also increased local tourism and a more stable economy for the regions involved. All the interested birders and scientists, ornithologists and volunteers, flock to see the biodiversity located in these shade-grown coffee farms. This creates opportunities for ecotourism, and for a source of steady local income not provided to traditional coffee growers.

To find shade-grown and bird-friendly coffee, check for labels of Rainforest Alliance http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/ or Bird Friendly. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/coffee/lover.cfm