Discovering a 'green' mine
1 Dec, 2009 By: Marty Whitford Landscape ManagementFirst, bayer plants the seeds. Then it plants the trees.
"Sustainability has long been a way of life for us at Bayer — but now we're sharing more, regarding our key role in environmental stewardship, through endeavors such as this Symposium," said Nick Hamon, Bayer Environmental Science's vice president of product development and sustainable development.
 Bayer and North Carolina State University are collaborating on a plethora of plant health research projects. One look in the mirror behind NCSU doctoral student Shannon Sermons reflects the pack of trade media reporters who toured NCSU's phytotron during Bayer Environmental Science's inaugural Plant Health Symposium, held Nov. 10-11 in Raleigh and Clayton, NC. |
"As you can tell by my title, for Bayer, product development and sustainability go hand in hand," noted Hamon during a beverage break at Bayer Environmental Science's inaugural Plant Health Symposium, held in Raleigh and Clayton, NC, Nov. 10-11. "This Symposium will help us collaborate, innovate and educate. Today and tomorrow, we're planting more seeds to sustainability. After the Symposium concludes, we'll plant a few more trees to offset our carbon footprint from this meeting."
A group of about 25 landscapers, golf course superintendents, North Carolina State University (NCSU) "turf doctors," trade magazine editors and Bayer Environmental Science team members comprised the Symposium's participant mix.
Healthy, well-maintained green spaces with turfgrass, trees and plants, can work wonders to decrease erosion, buffer noise, reuse water, promote biodiversity, sequester carbon and cool outdoor temperatures, noted Dr. Tom Rufty, director of the Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education and professor of environmental plant physiology, NCSU's Department of Crop Science.
 An infrared gas analyzer tests the carbon sequestration capabilities of tall fescue (left) and bermudagrass (right) at Bayer's Clayton (NC) Development & Training Center. |
Dr. Rufty noted the world already is grappling with limited oil and water resources and significant climate shifts — and he, Hamon and other Symposium speakers suspect carbon output caps and credits similar to those already adopted by the European Union soon might be mandated in the United States. Further demanding more-sustainable practices, the world's population is projected to mushroom from about 6.9 billion people today to 9.2 billion by 2050.
"As countries like China and India continue to industrialize and grow, resources are going to become more costly and less available," said Dr. Rufty, recently named the first Bayer Environmental Science Professor of Sustainable Development, a chair endowed by the Bayer CropScience business unit. "Ready or not, like it or not, we are challenged with using our resources much more efficiently and better protecting our environment — while maintaining the quality of life we value so much."
 NCSU's Dr. Tom Rufty and Dr. Danesha Carley showcase the university's 18-hole public golf course opened in June. Crafted by Lonnie Poole Golf Course — Arnold Palmer's design group — the course relies on solutions donated Bayer Environmental Science to control turf weeds, diseases and pest insects. |
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