auf Wiedersehen

This morning, the three American and five German students departed Bayer Climate Fellows Sustainability Camp for home.  

More will be posted over the next days and weeks, including more pictures, so please do check back with the blog.

It was a privilege to work with these fine students.  Our best wishes for a safe trip home, and a nice long rest this weekend.

RiverQuest, Pittsburgh, PA USA

We caught a baseball! Nearly…

Tonight, our RiverQuest chaperones organized tickets for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game against the Padres from San Diego. Beside the all you can eat possibility, the game was nice for the Germans and a rare seen one for the Pittsburghers, because the Pirates won 9-1. It was exciting for the Germans because they only have soccer in their country as a very popular sport. They were fascinated by the American mentality and lifestyle, that seems to be a lot more easy than in Germany.

Bayer Guests come to Camp

Bayer Climate Fellows Sustainability Camp is nearing its conclusion.  Today is the last day of programming for the camp, followed by a trip over to PNC Park to see our Pittsburgh Pirates play! 

This afternoon, Pam Stewart of Bayer CropScience in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina visited with Bayer Climate Fellows.  Pam presented a comprehensive overview of the broad and diverse operations of Bayer's CropScience division, and described the company's overall commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.  Pam described the current trend of population growth versus food supply originating from arable land that does not increase in size or plantable area.  Pam illustrated how weeds can compromise products of agriculture when uncontrolled.  Pesticide, herbicide and other crop control agents were used as examples of how the  use versus the non-use of such products dramatically reduces crop yield. 

Later on, Valerie Patrick of Bayer MaterialScience in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania joined us for a fascinating look at the world of chemistry, applications, and products that make up the world of material science at Bayer.  The students were fascinated to pass around various samples of Bayer high-strength polycarbonate and polyresin samples, and were quite interested in the nuances of the company's commitment toward recyclable and renewable materials in particular.

The presentations helped the Bayer Climate Fellows build a richer understanding of sustainability in the world today, and how a very large and multifaceted company like Bayer can commit to a set of values that actively address and respond to issues proactively, firmly, and with much recognition and success.

Many thanks to Valerie Patrick and Karl Haider at Bayer MaterialScience, to Pam Stewart at Bayer CropScience, and to Bridget McCourt and Rebecca Lucore at Bayer USA Foundation for helping us to make contacts with Bayer experts as our guests for Thursday's camp session.

Baywood: Meeting with Bayer Management

Wednesday afternoon we went to Baywood Chateau owned by Bayer. Our group really liked this chateau, it was very beautiful, but unfortunately it’s only for business usage and not like a hotel where you can stay longer. Although we weren’t businessmen, we were allowed to stay there some hours to come in contact with influential Bayer employees. After we had arrived, we stayed some time in the pool and had dinner i.e. a barbecue. Before we ate the delicious food, Dr. Molnar pointed out the importance of sustainability and the role of our generation in it, as well as Bayer's global commitment toward a mission of environmental responsibility.

It was definitely one of our peak events during our stay for the Bayer Climate Camp!

How to Rescue the World (Duquesne University Climate Change Workshop)

This morning we participated in a climate change workshop program of some members of the center for environmental research and education at Duquesne University. Dr. Kabala, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Baxter told us about the scientific background of climate change and what parameters influence our carbon footprint. For example, we learned that Germany is Number Three of the most environmental saving countries of all industrial countries and the US Number Eight, that means the last one. We tried that ourselves in the computer lab with a program, that is able to calculate the amounts of earths our lifestyle would need. Most of us were about four planets. We also tried to lower our carbon footprint by changing different parameters. In conclusion we should try to act more responsible with electricity and food, especially fast food and animal products like meat, eggs and milk, because the animals themselves produce a lot of CH4, Methane, a worse greenhouse gas than CO2.

Nine Miles for an Ice Cream (Nine Mile Run Watershed Restoration)

This evening, we went to the Frick Mansion for an early dinner. We were severely underdressed but had a great time. The food was excellent, and though it came in small portions, it was perfect for a four o’clock dinner. Then we visited Frick Park, where the US-Army Corps of Engineers rehabilitated the Nine Mile Run Watershed some years ago. That doesn’t mean that we walked for nine miles, it’s the distance between the mouth of the creek and Pittsburgh. Our guide showed us some remarkable constructions in the creek like specific meanders and rocks that serve to raise dissolved oxygen in the water. We also found some invasive plants in that area.

After the long hike, we took a refreshing ice cream break at Cold Stone Creamery. We returned to the dorms and began a game of pick-up soccer to work off our ice cream. We ended the day tired and happy.

The Nine Mile Run Project

For anyone reading the blog, here's some background on the Nine Mile Run Watershed reclamation project. Credit for this information goes to the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association website.

Above: reconstructed stream meanders and riffles. Photo from a spring 2008 RiverQuest/ASSET teacher workshop.

Nine Mile Run is a small stream that flows through Pittsburgh's East End. You don't need to cross a bridge to drive over Nine Mile Run because it is almost entirely underground. At the turn of the 20th century, open water was not viewed as an asset to the community. Streams were often seen as a means to transport trash and sewage away from homes. They were also viewed as hindrances to the "progress" of city building and were more often than not, piped underground.

Nine Mile Run was put in underground pipes, or culverts, starting in the early 20th century. However, because the stream runs through Frick Park, about a third of the stream was left above ground. Today the stream first emerges from its culverts in Frick Park and flows through the park to the Monongahela River. That's a 2.2 mile stretch of open water, a nearly unheard of amount for a city the size of Pittsburgh .

The Nine Mile Run Watershed Association website, from whence this background information comes, includes this very descriptive historical quote:

"During the hot dry months of summer the Run is a trickling rivulet of filth, and the odor emanating from it and from the decaying matter left exposed in the dry channel are decidedly disagreeable and a positive MENACE TO HEALTH."

-Taken from an Edgewood Town Meeting on January 11, 1913 where a vote to change the course of Nine Mile Run and pipe it underground was proposed

Nine Mile Run has come a long way through a recent reclamation project. But even today, Pittsburgh (much like cities throughout the northeastern corridor of the USA) is saddled with the issue of Combined Sewer Overflow. Many sewer lines beneath the city are constructed to deal with both storm runoff and municipal sewage. When an excess of rain falls, and in some cases 1/10 of an inch of rain is "excess," the combined sewer overflows into rivers and streams.

They were designed to do this, in a time when it was thought more health conscious to have sanitary sewage back up into waterways instead of up onto city streets. When the same river that carries "away" sewage also provides a city's drinking water--there's a problem!

The Nine Mile Run project serves as a model and testing ground where cost-effective and citizen based projects continue to explore ways to reduce stormwater runoff from roofs and impermeable paved surfaces.

Learn more at the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association website: http://www.ninemilerun.org/