Spring has sprung! Certainly, for our corporate campus in Birmingham, AL, the weather these days has been quite delightful—aside from maybe the lovely blanket of pollen— and the surroundings beautiful – blooming trees, azaleas in full color, bulbs popping out into pretty daffodils...We, and we’re sure many of you, are glad to be spending more time outdoors enjoying our wonderful planet Earth.
For Royal Cup, specifically, we’re reminding our teams to enjoy the fresh air, whether strolling on our campus trail (10 laps = 1 mile) or chatting over lunch with colleagues on our patio. We’re also educating and reinforcing what each of us can do to help protect our world and these enjoyable surroundings. Around campus you’ll find tips for more efficient water and energy usage along with a reminder of the three R’s. Can you guess what they are? (Don’t peek below!)
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
And, our coffee tree (we like to say our HQ is one of the only places coffee is grown in the US) is now glad to be back outside! It’s budding of small white flowers is about to burst open as we harvest the last few ripe coffee cherries from it. Experiencing the annual cycle of the birth of coffee continues to be very educational (and fun!) for both the Royal Cup team and for guests visiting our campus.
Speaking of trees, did you know that last year we donated more than 100 tree seedlings with One Tree Planted? This worked to offset a few necessary tree removals on our Birmingham campus. Some of these donated trees are now helping to restore a forest and wildlife habitat in Northeast Florida; others are being planted on the west coast of Oregon to help grow the salmon population and their predators, sea orcas; and the remainder are in the process of being planted in the wildlife-stricken areas of California and Colorado.
Coming up this week, as part of Royal Cup’s celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd, we plan to donate an additional 422 trees with One Tree Planted. We look forward to hearing about the impact these new trees will make and will keep you posted on where they end up living!
As we continue to enjoy springtime and the wonderful weather it brings, check out a few activities to help you explore and appreciate Mother Earth. Whether you live in an urban area or a more natural environment, these are all fun ways to enjoy the great outdoors:
- Take a moment to closely inspect the trees, plants, and flowers around you. Which parts of the plant are the most beautiful and why? What insects, birds, or other wildlife are interacting with these plants and what purpose does this serve? iNaturalist, a free app you can download to your phone, is a great resource to help with plant identification and education. And each time you upload a sighting, you are creating additional data for scientists to study these plants, their health, and their geographic range!
- Explore home composting or connect with a local composting service. The composting of your coffee and tea grounds, food scraps, yard waste, etc. will not only lessen the amount of waste being sent to a landfill, but can actually enrich the soil around you, leading to enhanced natural beauty! Our local partner Field Culture Compost has a great website you can check out to learn more about composting.
- Are you already recycling? If so, that’s awesome! The Earth is high-fiving you. Brainstorm about other ways you can prioritize helping to clean up and protect this fragile world we call home. We all make a difference, and every step is contributing to a larger goal. Your efforts MATTER!
So, from all of us at Royal Cup, Happy Earth Day
