Growing West Sacramento: Bayer CropScience Donates $10,000 To Center For Land-Based Learning
September 21, 2014
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Sept. 22, 2014) – In an effort to help grow sustainable agriculture in the greater Sacramento area, Bayer CropScience donated $10,000 to the Center for Land-Based Learning, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and motivating people of all ages, especially youth, to promote a healthy interplay between agriculture, nature and society through their own actions and as leaders in their communities. The gift will support the Urban Farm Project in West Sacramento, which provides beginning farmers with access to land to grow produce for local farmers markets, farm stands, restaurants and food banks. Bayer CropScience made the donation in a celebratory ceremony on Friday, Sept. 12 at the urban farm, located at the corner of 5th and C Streets in West Sacramento.
“Bayer CropScience sees incredible opportunity for agricultural development in West Sacramento, as the area has a rich agricultural history and citizens and civic leaders are invested in sustainable farming,” said Mike Miille, Head of Business Management, Biologics at Bayer CropScience LP and West Sacramento site leader. “We hope that through our donation, the Center for Land-Based Learning and the West Sacramento Urban Farm Project will continue to be fruitful in providing both food to sustain the community and the development of local agricultural leaders.”
Approximately 100 volunteers from Bayer CropScience’s West Sacramento team helped wrap up the summer harvest and prepare two West Sacramento plots for the winter planting season. Along with the Center for Land-Based Learning and local civic and government officials, Bayer CropScience volunteers:
- Removed summer vegetable plants, tomato poles, and double-dug soil beds in preparation for the winter vegetable plantings;
- Dug out an existing underground sprinkler system at the newest urban farm site, so that the ground can be tilled and prepared for a winter cover crop, and
- Painted a beautiful mural of vegetables composed by Arturo Romero, a Sacramento-based artist, to show the community the important role of fresh, healthy vegetables to their lives.
Together, these efforts will help cultivate the growth of the Urban Farm Project in West Sacramento, an area experiencing rapid growth in its rich agriculture and bioscience industries.
Bayer CropScience and the Center for Land-Based Learning remain highly invested in promoting sustainable agriculture throughout the greater Sacramento area and California, as:
- The global population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050;
- Advancements must be made in sustainable agriculture to grow enough healthy food to feed people around the world, and
- Corporations like Bayer CropScience giving back to local communities through urban farming efforts such as the West Sacramento Urban Farm is an essential component in combating food scarcity issues.
“At the Center for Land-Based Learning, we envision a world where there is meaningful appreciation and respect for our natural environment and for the land that produces food and sustains quality of life,” said Mary Kimball, Exeuctive Director of the Center for Land-Based Learning. “Through Bayer CropScience’s generous donation, we will be able to care for land on the West Sacramento Urban Farm and produce nutritious food that can help sustain our neighbors in the local community.”
The West Sacramento Urban Farm, an almost one-acre field in the site of a former gas station, will grow more than 50 varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs. For more information on the Center for Land-Based Learning and the Urban Farm project, please visit http://bit.ly/1lVM2NW.
Bayer CropScience Twitter Page:
http://twitter.com/bayer4cropsus
http://twitter.com/bayerbeecare
Bayer CropScience Blog:
http://connect.bayercropscience.us
Bayer CropScience is committed to bringing new technology and solutions for agriculture and non-agricultural uses. For questions concerning the availability and use of products, contact a local Bayer CropScience representative, or visit Bayer CropScience online at www.bayercropscience.us.
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About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 8,819 million (2013) and is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 22,400 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.
Contact:
Bayer CropScience Media Hotline, 1-877-879-6162, or
Kelly Howenstine
Communciations Manager, Biologics
Bayer CropScience
Tel: (916) 661-3389
Email: kelly.howenstine@bayer.com
Jennifer Fair
MMI Public Relations
Tel: (919) 233-6600
Email: jennifer@mmipublicrelations.com
Find more information at www.bayercropscience.us.
Forward-Looking Statements
This 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.
