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Bayer International Summer Sustainability Camp Kicks Off July 17 in Pittsburgh

High School Students to Study Climate Change and Sustainable Development Through Urban-River Experiences

Bayer International Summer Sustainability Camp Kicks Off July 17 in Pittsburgh

High School Students to Study Climate Change and Sustainable Development Through Urban-River Experiences

Published 07-14-09

Submitted by Bayer

Pittsburgh, PA - July 14, 2009 - Bayer will welcome 12 high school students from the United States and Europe in Pittsburgh July 17-29 to provide them with a unique opportunity to learn about environment, sustainable development and global climate change issues through urban-river experiences as part of the second annual Bayer Summer Sustainability Camp.

The camp - funded by the Bayer USA Foundation and the Bayer Science and Education Foundation, two of Bayer's three global foundations - is conducted by RiverQuest, a Pittsburgh-based, nonprofit educational organization dedicated to exploring the environment through the lens of Western Pennsylvania's freshwater ecosystem.

The students, recognized as Bayer Climate Fellows, hail from Germany, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They will participate in a series of activities designed to be academically challenging, physically engaging and fun. Aboard Explorer, RiverQuest's award-winning "green" boat, they will do hands-on field explorations of marine biology and freshwater ecology on the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers.

The Bayer Fellows also will attend classes on sustainability at Duquesne University, experience green technologies firsthand at Steel City Biofuels and visit Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home that emphasizes the human connection to the natural world. Additionally, they will meet with Bayer scientists and engineers who are experts on green science and sustainability.

The Bayer foundations' support of the camp is part of the Bayer Climate Program, a global corporate initiative to develop and implement sustainable initiatives. Bayer is investing approximately $1.5 billion between 2008 and 2010 in climate-related research and projects.

"We at Bayer are proud to partner with RiverQuest on the Bayer Summer Sustainability Camp. With this camp, our commitment to sustainability, science education and corporate social responsibility converge into a program that addresses one of the biggest challenges the world faces today - climate change," said Greg Babe, President and CEO of Bayer Corporation and Chairman of the Bayer USA Foundation. "Our young people are our future. As the world gets smaller, young people from around the world will find themselves working together to solve pressing global problems like climate change. The camp gives these students a solid head start."

Babe added that RiverQuest provides the kind of experiential curriculum that places climate change squarely into a real-world context, while also improving critical thinking and cooperative learning, and instilling an understanding and appreciation for the region's waterways.

"Rivers are living, breathing climate change laboratories," said Jeff Jordan, Director of Education and interim Executive Director of RiverQuest. "Changes in the environment are quickly mirrored in our rivers. What's happening with the native fish population, the flora and the quality of the water itself can often be leading indicators of environmental quality or degradation."

About Bayer USA Foundation
The Bayer USA Foundation is an endowed 501(c)(3) entity and is the primary source of Bayer Corporation's philanthropy in the United States. With a programmatic focus on the environment and sustainability; education and workforce development; arts and culture; and health and human services, the foundation creates and supports organizations that improve communities in which Bayer employees live and work, as well as society at large. The Bayer USA Foundation is one of three corporate Bayer foundations worldwide, including the Bayer Science & Education Foundation and the Bayer Cares Foundation.

About Bayer Science & Education Foundation
Established in 2007, the Bayer Science & Education Foundation pursues the primary goals of honoring outstanding research achievements, assisting talented young scientists and supporting important scholastic projects. The Bayer Science & Education Foundation is one of three corporate Bayer foundations worldwide, including the Bayer USA Foundation and the Bayer Cares Foundation.

About Bayer Corporation
Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2008 net sales of approximately 8 billion euros (about $12 billion) and employed 17,000 at year-end. Bayer's three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve people's lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose, prevent and treat diseases; protect crops and enhance yields; and advance automobile safety and durability. For more information, go to www.bayerus.com.

About RiverQuest
RiverQuest, formerly Pittsburgh Voyager, is an award-winning not-for-profit education organization offering river-based educational programs for students, teachers, and the community. RiverQuest also provides a range of public programs, including interpretive cruises and private charters for businesses, organizations and the public. RiverQuest operates a small fleet of laboratory vessels, docked on the North Shore adjacent to downtown Pittsburgh, PA.

RiverQuest's mission is to connect people to their environment through river education adventures programs. Since launching programs in 1995, RiverQuest has served nearly 80,000 individuals through on-board education programming. More than 64,000 elementary, middle and high school students representing 239 schools from 66 school districts in 11 Western Pennsylvania counties have participated in standards-based learning programs, with themes ranging from environmental science and regional history to physical science and mathematics. Along with students, more than 2,500 teachers and college students and 17,000 members of the general public have participated in RiverQuest programs. For more information, visit www.RiverQuest.org.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

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