Sustainable Coffee: Sustaining Livelihoods and Wildlife in Nicaragua
- Wednesday April 21, 2021
- 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
- John A. Gerwin
- Research Ornithologist, Naturalist, Educator
- NC Museum of Natural Sciences
- Audience: Ages 12 and older
Sustainable coffee can come in many flavors. Coffee grown in this fashion provides significant habitat for plants and animals as well as significant jobs, which often include jobs in tourism. Coffee is one of the most highly traded agricultural commodities, ranking 19th in the world in 2020. What does it mean to be “sustainable?” There are various meanings to this word — as the saying goes, it depends on whom you ask.
From 2005–2018, John made 13 trips to conduct research and education among several sustainable coffee farms in Nicaragua. These trips included 10 ecotours. He studied one migratory bird in particular; the Golden-winged Warbler. He invested many hours teaching local workers to speak English, to better understand their wildlife and to become ecotour guides. In this program, John will discuss his and his colleagues' efforts to understand, and support, “sustainable coffee” in Nicaragua.
