Learn about strategic and sustainable solutions!
November 2018
Eating Local and Organic
Joan Plisko was pleased to represent Pearlstone at The Associate d 's employee wellness fair. For those that stopped by the Pearlstone exhibit table, they were able to have a little exercise and eat local, organic food -- they made bike blender hummus and ate carrots grown on Pearlstone's USDA certified organic farm!
40 Million Americans are Food Insecure
To help address issues surrounding food insecurity, the Maryland Department of the Environment organized the one day Mid-Atlantic Food Recovery Summit at Bowie State University (Oct 24, 2018). The purpose of the summit was to explore :
  1. Gaps in the food recovery infrastructure and innovative ways to bridge them;
  2. How to scale effective solutions to make meaningful progress toward goals; and
  3. Strategies for food recovery across different sectors and within rural and urban areas.
Dawn Benton of Astrapto and Joan Plisko were delighted to present the results of their work with the Baltimore Convention Center at the Summit. Highlights include:
  • Training staff on source reduction,
  • Conducting food audits,
  • Donating food via electronic matching aps,
  • Providing food scraps to a local farmer for feed, and
  • Using technologies such as digestors and dehydrators.
Green Infrastructure at MedStar Harbor Hospital and Project Green Classrooms
This past June, Maryland's Governor signed an Executive Order establishing Project Green Classrooms . The mission is: To mobilize resources to ensure that Maryland’s youth experience, understand, and learn to conserve the natural environment. The advisory board and related committee members represent multiple disciplines across the public and private sectors and are drafting recommendations on solutions that will raise environmental literacy, access to nearby nature, and green career pathways for youth.

MedStar Harbor Hospital was proud to host Project Green Classrooms on October 26, 2018 and showcase the progress of the onsite healing gardens and stormwater infrastructure projects.
Implementation of green infrastructure at MedStar Harbor Hospital is happening now!
Signage at all entrances of MedStar Harbor Hospital showcases the vision of the healing garden and storm water infrastructure project.
SBC Outdoor Services is one of several landscaping contractors planting some of the 40,000 plants on the grounds of MedStar Harbor Hospital.
Curb cuts will let water flow from the parking lot into a series of bioretention ponds.
Project Green Classrooms tours the healing garden -- a work in progress .
Jill Johnson, Vice President of Operations for MedStar Harbor Hospital, is the executive champion of the project.
Curb cuts will let water flow from the parking lot into a series of bioretention ponds .
About Plisko Sustainable Solutions
Joan and Marc Plisko
Swallow Falls State Park, Maryland
Joan Plisko, PhD, President
Marc Plisko, CIH, Vice President
The mission of Plisko Sustainable Solutions, LLC is to catalyze positive health, environmental, and social change through improved customer performance, economic savings, and enhanced social awareness.