By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

To inspire a love of science and agriculture in the next generation, global agribusiness Bayer teamed up with the National 4-H Council to create the Science Matters program.

“I’m a proud 4-H alum myself, so nothing is more important to me than this program,” Darren Wallis, Bayer’s vice president of Communications for North America, said. “It’s a program that is putting curriculum into the hands of our youth through the volunteer network that 4-H has, really encouraging science and science literacy and getting young people across this country excited about science.”

The program is in its third year.

“Bayer is a company that’s based on science. Our tag line is Science for a Better Life, but beyond our company, science is at the core of everything—agriculture included,” Wallis said. “Whether it is on a farm or in a company, there are more science jobs that are out there. It’s not just agronomic. It’s data science. It’s about chemistry. All these things are converging.”

If Science Matters can influence children early on and get them excited about science or agriculture, there’s a better chance they’re going to be involved in science later, he said.

“They’re more informed policy makers, consumers and employees,” Wallis said. “There is a lot of noise out there, and we want to make sure that we’re attracting people because jobs are going unfilled today. It’s a really big opportunity.”

Science Matters focuses on three pillars: science for today, science for tomorrow and science for a generation.

The first pillar includes investing in both rural and urban youth through curriculum for hands-on activities that will broaden their perspectives about science and agriculture.

To invest in science for tomorrow, the program empowers youth to further their skills development and pursuit of agriscience careers.

The science for a generation pillar invests in communities by empowering youth and engaging employees to lead initiatives that set up holistic, long-term solutions for community problems.

More information on the program is available at http://4-h.org/bayer.