Creve Coeur

About the Program
Bayer’s Creve Coeur Campus, located west of St. Louis in Missouri, hosts a range of rich habitat from prairies to woodlands to support and encourage native species growth and help people experience and learn about pollinators and other wildlife species where they live, work, learn and play. The program, which began in 1993, involves employees and partners such as the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Missouri Department of Conservation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Prairies with native grasses and wildflowers attract insects and bugs for the birds eat and the woodland provides natural nesting cavities for birds and other wildlife. A nature trail connects the prairies and woodlands and provides an area for people to engage in nature. Though their efforts, Bayer seeks to increase and improve existing pollinator habitat, support native bird nesting efforts and increase the understanding of and appreciation for nature both amongst its employees and within the broader community. 

Practices and Impacts

• The Bayer team conducts regular scheduled burns and mowing to maintain over two acres of grassland habitats on site. Recent monitoring results show that the prairies are relatively healthy and show many signs of Missouri native grasses and wildflowers growing in abundance.
• The team works with a professional landscaping company to target and remove invasive Morrow's honeysuckle and Amur honeysuckle from the sites.
• To support its monarch butterfly commitment, Bayer has created pollinator habitat to support monarch butterflies as well as other bee and butterfly pollinator species. In 2016, a rain garden was added with native flowering plants and milkweed which provides monarch butterflies with nectar and a source of food for caterpillars. Seed dispersal efforts have resulted in additional milkweed and wildflowers which provide nectar for bees and butterflies and a source of food for caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars have recently been observed on the milkweed. 
• Approximately 30 nest boxes on site support native cavity-nesting birds such as the eastern bluebird, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, Carolina wren, house wren and Eurasian tree sparrow. Nesting boxes are inspected and cleaned each year and monitored weekly March through July. In 2023, monitoring found there were 38 eastern bluebird fledglings. Volunteers are trained in how to collect nest-box monitoring data including how to identify the eggs and nest of different species. 
• Bayer's annual Earth Day/Earth Week celebration, which began in 1999, allows 400 employees and their families to participate in nature walks and other environmental activities on-site. Earth Week also features about a dozen local exhibitors with displays of conservation or sustainable initiatives going on locally in the community.