Company Brings Global U.N. Environment Initiative to Northern New Jersey, Planting Trees and Providing Free Environmental Education Activities
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MORRISTOWN, N.J., Nov. 18, 2007 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Reaffirming its commitment to sustainability and social responsibility, today Bayer employee-volunteers and Girl Scouts from troops in Washington Township and Parsippany rolled up their sleeves, grabbed their spades and planted 10 trees at Lake Rickabear, owned and operated by Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, as the company announced that it has awarded a new $19,000 Making Science Make Sense(R) (MSMS) grant to the Girl Scouts and that it has joined the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Plant for the Planet: The Billion Tree Campaign.
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The MSMS grant to the Girl Scouts will underwrite three 2008 "Super Science Fun Days," aimed at increasing girls' self-confidence in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The special daylong workshops are designed to develop critical thinking skills through hands-on experiences, like creating a catapult or hovercraft, exploring the world of fiber optics and optical illusions, or studying their own DNA.
In addition, through its local MSMS program, Bayer is providing free environmental education CDs to the Girl Scouts. The CDs feature fun facts about trees and the environment, hands-on science activities and several MSMS audio series segments, like "Why do leaves change colors?" and "Why do pruned trees grow fuller?"
The tree planting and environmental education materials distribution also marks Bayer's local commitment to the company's global pledge to the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Plant for the Planet: The Billion Tree Campaign, which strives to combat climate change by encouraging individuals and organizations to plant at least one billion trees around the world by the end of 2007. Earlier this spring, Bayer AG in Germany pledged to help plant trees in Nairobi and Bayer Corporation in the United States pledged $100,000 from the Bayer Foundation to the National Arbor Day Foundation to help plant 100,000 trees in an effort to reforest America's national parks damaged by fire, drought, disease and disaster.
"Making Science Make Sense is about providing students with the kind of quality experiential science education that builds science literacy," said Eric First, Health of Global Technology and Innovation, Bayer Consumer Care. "With our new Girl Scout partnership locally and the Billion Tree Campaign globally, we at Bayer are able to help these girls make the connection between science literacy and climate, while reinforcing the notion that everyone has a responsibility when it comes to environmental protection -- from the largest companies like Bayer that are working to develop innovative and environmentally sound products and practices, to private citizens who can help by carpooling, shutting off light switches, and in this case, planting trees."
The impact of trees on climate is well documented. For example, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen, enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people. In addition, the net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.
"Trees are vital to a healthy community, and planting trees today not only helps us leave a legacy for future generations of Girl Scouts, but helps us meet our mission of making the world a better place by empowering today's Girl Scouts with the STEM knowledge and skills necessary to change it," said Mary-Ann Lewis, Outdoor Program Director for Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey. "For this, we are extremely grateful to Bayer and its strong supp
