The Sustainable Coffee Company and Parks Victoria have launched Coffee for Nature, a program to create habitats for critically endangered Victorian wildlife.
Under the partnership, every kilogram of Coffee for Nature beans sold will directly fund seed collection, propagation, site preparation, and planting of a habitat tree, shrub, or understory plant to create habitats for Victoria’s state faunal emblems, the critically endangered helmeted honeyeater and lowland leadbeater’s possum.
Plantings will take place in specific reforestation projects under Parks Victoria management. The first planting site is Haining Farm, a former dairy turned conservation site in the Upper Yarra region.
“We aim to provide an income stream to allow for continued restoration of sites like Haining Farm, which will help boost the prospects of some of Australia’s most endangered species,” says The Sustainable Coffee Company Director Brendan Condon.
The Haining farm restoration project is a multi-year initiative, aiming to create viable new habitat areas to enable the release of these endangered species, and improve their prospects for survival.
“Creating habitats for our Victorian faunal emblems is a high priority, and we are pleased that Victorians can enjoy a Coffee for Nature coffee knowing they’re helping the helmeted honeyeater and leadbeater’s possum fight back from their endangered status,” says Conrad Annal, Area Chief Ranger of Parks Victoria.
Award-winning ecological restoration company Australian Ecosystems will work with Parks Victoria to undertake the restoration works, ensuring the suitability of locally indigenous plants and trees.
An additional feature of the program will see Coffee for Nature green beans sourced primarily from the Bom Jesus partner farm in Brazil, which has extensive programs designed to protect native birds and endangered wildlife.
In 2023, it is ranked third among Brazil’s most sustainable large farms of all types, and the most sustainable in coffee production.
