Syngenta Thrive - 4Q/2013 - 28

Ripple
Effect

Syngenta recognizes ag leaders and
gives back to the community; scientist
awarded world Food Prize.
community engagement
> Deep Roots—History of the Harvest
Almost half a million people visit North Carolina’s Bicentennial Plaza in Raleigh each year. Situated outside the
North Carolina Museum of History, between the State
Capitol, the State Legislative Building and the Museum
of Natural Sciences, the plaza is the heart of downtown.
You wouldn’t expect to find corn growing here; but it
does, along with tobacco, cotton and several other
crops that make up a block-long exhibit called
History of the Harvest.
A collaboration between the history museum and
Syngenta, the exhibit gives the public an up-close look
at agriculture, says Steven Goldsmith, director of corporate communications for the Syngenta facility in Research
Triangle Park, N.C. The company has provided financial
support for the purchase of materials as well as labor to
maintain the exhibit.
As people walk along the block, they can learn about
agriculture’s contributions throughout the state’s history,
notes Emily Grant, youth programs coordinator at the
museum. The first two sections are dedicated to medicinal and culinary plants either used by Native Americans
or introduced by settlers. The third section shows how
growing corn, beans and squash once optimized food
production. The fourth section focuses on tobacco,
cotton, corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts and sorghum,
the state’s valuable cash crops.
These sections lead up to “From Field to Lab,” a part
of the exhibit that demonstrates how agribusinesses,
such as Syngenta, use biotechnology and other tools
to sustainably produce food for the growing global

26 | thrive

>>>> 4Q 2013

PHoTo: (ABovE) NoRTH CARoLiNA MuSEuM oF HiSToRY; iLLuSTRATioN: (RiGHT) ALAMY; PHoToS: (FAR RiGHT) SuPPLiEd BY wiNNERS

Syngenta Thrive - 4Q/2013

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