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Mark Bishop
Urban Organics / Sweet Peet

The Nominator: Dan Morgan, Straight Shooter / Morgan Farm Stay

How has the nominee implemented sustainable business practices in his or her business or organization and what are the triple bottom line benefits (people, planet, prosperity) of the nominee`s work?
Mark hired 3 people in the past 6 months, including myself. (Part Time). Mark intends to hire 3-5 more within the next 12 months. He is looking for handicapped, disadvantaged or war veterans to employ. Mark is currently installing growing systems into newly constructed greenhouse using aquaculture, vermiculture techniques(using Will Allen`s Growing Power, as a model). The greenhouse will be heated using compost piles outside greenhouse. These systems will create closed loop growth of microgreens and several species of edible plants and veggies year round. The systems are also used to "grow" healthy soils that will be used in new products. Sweet Peet`s Business model has built brand loyalty over the past 7 years in Ohio, PA, Indiana and Michigan. The company had record sales this past spring. Sweet Peet has been a seasonal business, but the new line of soil mixes, branded SweetLand Soils is expected to double or triple sales figures in the first year, 2010.

How does the nominee actively participate in the sustainability community? How do they collaborate and share their knowledge with others?
Mark has ALS, a crippling disease otherwise known as Lou Gehrig`s disease. Mark was attending E4S meetings and it is amazing how much he has shared his stories of success with the business community considering this. Mark hired me to share the story of Sweet Peet, SweetLand Soils and his plans for Freebird Farms, an Eco-Educational facility that has completed phase one of it`s construction. Mark`s dream is to have families and school buses visit the greenhouses and be inspired to mimic some of the amazing chemical fee ways to grow food and healthy soil in home gardens, at schools and most importantly in urban city centers where so little healthy food is readily available. The use of Text messaging and e-mail has allowed Mark to stay in touch with employees, communicate extensively with business partners and sell benefits of this 100% organic product made mostly from manure, once a vital part of the farming process now often discarded in manors unsafe for the environment.

How has the nominee inspired you to implement sustainable business practices?
I have installed educational components at my Farm Stay, an Agratourism business. The composting stations, recycling area and literature at the farm motivate our guests to implement the practices in their own lives.

How can someone else translate the success of the nominee? Is the work of the nominee an example or model that others can follow?
The whole idea of Freebird Farms is to educate others, primarily school age kids about the benefits of this type of farming and train them how to do it in a hands on environment with interactive displays, literature and live demonstrations.