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Bayer International Summer Sustainability Camp Kicks Off July 16
Fifteen High School Students from the U.S. and Germany Study Environmental Sustainable Development in Pittsburgh
Bayer International Summer Sustainability Camp Kicks Off July 16
Fifteen High School Students from the U.S. and Germany Study Environmental Sustainable Development in Pittsburgh
Published 07-16-10
Submitted by Bayer USA Foundation
Fifteen American and German high school students will learn about environmental sustainability issues July 16 "“ 28 during the third annual International Bayer Summer Sustainability Camp in Pittsburgh.
Funded by the Bayer USA Foundation and the Bayer Science & Education Foundation, the camp is conducted by RiverQuest, a Pittsburgh-based, nonprofit educational organization. RiverQuest uses Western Pennsylvania's rivers as classrooms to connect students with their environment.
The students, called Bayer Fellows, hail from Germany, California, Kansas, North Carolina, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The students will conduct hands-on field studies of aquatic biology on Western Pennsylvania’s Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. They will attend environmental sustainability classes at Duquesne University, learn boat safety and canoeing skills from Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission representatives, and investigate freshwater ecology with RiverQuest.
The students will visit Bayer's EcoCommercial Building Conference Center at Bayer Corporation's headquarters campus in Pittsburgh. The building uses solar energy to produce more energy than it uses. It is a prototype for materials and technologies that can be used to produce zero-energy commercial buildings. They will also travel aboard RiverQuest's "Explorer", one of the world's first environmentally "green" passenger vessels. The boat's hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system cuts per passenger energy consumption in half and reduces greehouse gas emissions.
Bayer's support for the camp is part of the Bayer Climate Program, a global initiative to develop and carry out environmentally sustainable programs. Bayer is investing $1.5 billion between 2008 and 2010 in climate-related research and projects.
"Bayer is honored to partner with Riverquest and to host students from across the United States and Germany," said Greg Babe, President and CEO of Bayer Corporation and Bayer MaterialScience LLC. "Today's students are tomorrow's leaders. This camp is an outstanding opportunity for the students to learn about our present and future environmental challenges."
"Pittsburgh and its three rivers provide endless opportunities to learn about the environment and the importance of sustainable stewardship," said Paul King, Executive Director of RiverQuest. "This international camp, through the exploration of Pittsburgh-area ecosystems by students from different regions and perspectives, combines environmental education with cultural awareness."
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.
