ECO SPEAKS CLE
ECO SPEAKS CLE is where the eco-curious explore Northeast Ohio's unique and thriving environmental community. Each episode delivers thoughtful and informative interviews with local sustainability leaders and offers tips to help listeners connect, learn, and live with the community and planet in mind. ECO SPEAKS CLE is hosted by Diane Bickett and produced by her son-in-law, Greg Rotuno. Diane draws on experiences and relationships developed during her 31-year environmental career to showcase the impactful work shaping Cleveland's environmental future in a podcast that speaks to sustainability newcomers and masters alike.
Episodes
Medwish International in Cleveland, Ohio, has been making a world of difference since 1993 by recovering, repurposing, and redistributing surplus medical supplies around the globe. This urgently needed humanitarian aid also helps the environment by keeping life-saving resources out of landfills. In this episode, we speak with Executive Director Britta Latz about how Medwish has been bridging the gap between surplus and scarcity for...
We all love a good find at a vintage store and have done our fair share of donating or selling stuff we no longer want. These sustainable actions fuel a booming industry called the secondary market for consumer goods. But how much do we know about the consumer resale market? How can we make good decisions about where we donate, and how can we be savvy shoppers in the resale retail world? Joining us with the inside scoop is Kathleen...
In this episode, we bring you the conversation from Eco Meet CLE, a sustainability event held this October at Great Lakes Brewing Company. The theme of the evening was local food. Over 100 people joined us for food, beer, and a conversation about our local food system with a panel of guests that helped us explore the meaning of the term food system, the various roles within that system, and ways we might make it more local, more a...
In this episode of Eco Speaks CLE, we speak with New York Times bestselling author and climate journalist Jeff Goodell. Jeff has covered climate change for over two decades at Rolling Stone and is the author of seven books, including his latest book, The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death On A Scorched Planet. This is an engaging, thoughtful, and human book filled with stories that help us all understand how we can help addre...
What if there was a way to save thousands of innocent birds from lethal collisions with our urban glass structures each year? In this episode of EcoSpeak CLE, we head to Lake Erie Nature and Science Center to speak with wildlife rehabilitation specialist Tim Jasinski, one of the founders of Lights Out Cleveland. Tim shares the challenges migratory birds face in navigating the dangerous cityscape of Cleveland and how we all help mak...
Whitnye Long Jones is a nature enthusiast, community engagement specialist, and environmental justice advocate. She channels these passions and skills into the non-profit she founded in 2017 called Organic Connects. Whitnye runs Organic Connects with her husband, Jefferson Jones, a lifelong outdoor educator, and outdoorsman. Together, they provide environmental education, outdoor recreation, and nature-based opportunities primaril...
Emily Pek is a flower farmer and the owner of Frayed Knot Farm, a small flower farm in Newbury, Ohio, where she produces beautiful, diverse cut flowers and herbs that share stories, bring joy and support equitable and regenerative farming.
In this episode, we visit Emily on her farm and discover her journey to becoming a flower farmer, the family roots and community behind her farm, the flowers behind the Saison beer at G...
Evergreen Recycling, based in Clyde, Ohio, is one of North America's largest recyclers of plastic PET bottles and its mission is to make single-use plastic a thing of the past. With four facilities across North America, Evergreen leads the industry in bottle-to-bottle recycling. In our conversation with Michael Sandoval, Evergreen's corporate purchasing manager, we talked about bottle recycling, the circular economy, and...
Eddie Olschanski is on a mission. Five days a week, year-round, Eddie can be seen fishing for trash in his kayak on the Cuyahoga River in the Flats. Outfitted with just a life jacket, a trash grabber, and garbage bags, Eddie and his volunteers have plucked over 50,000 lbs of trash from the shipping canal, the last place the trash can be removed before it drains into Lake Erie. Eddie founded Trash Fish CLE in 2017 to keep our lake c...
Curious about how the water you use every day gets to your tap? If you live in Northeast Ohio, chances are you get some or all of your water from the Cleveland Division of Water and the process of getting it from Lake Erie to you is fascinating. Today is water appreciation day on Eco Speaks CLE and speaking with us is Alex Margevicius, the Commissioner of Water for Cleveland Water. Alex oversees the 10th largest water system in the...
In this episode, we hear from a number of Cleveland's sustainability community in this recording from May's Eco Meet CLE event at Great Lakes Brewing Company. The evening featured a community stage where we heard from local environmental organizations about their work and the many ways we can connect and get involved. A lot is happening around town, and we are proud of all the people doing this important work. Listen to t...
The Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op has been helping people use bikes for over 20 years by imparting skills that encourage riding for fun, fitness, and transportation. Guided by the principles of respect, resourcefulness, and reciprocity, the OCBC's small professional staff and its many skilled volunteers refurbish donated bicycles, teach bike maintenance and repair classes, operate a bicycle thrift store, and lead community programs ...
In honor of Arbor Day, we discuss local efforts to reforest the Forest City with the Cleveland Tree Coalition and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. Cleveland was once known as the Forest City, but it's not so forested anymore, with less than 18% of tree canopy remaining in the urban core. This tree canopy loss negatively impacts the city and its residents. Two women working to understand those impacts and rebuild our ur...
April is a busy month in the CLE, so we bring you this short Earth Day episode where Diane goes solo and speaks about the first Earth Fest at the Zoo in 1990, what having a sustainability community means, ways to get involved, and what's in store for Eco Speaks CLE.
Ways to Connect:
Join the Eco Meet CLE 4 Miles 4 Water team
Register for Eco Meet CLE on May 16
Eco Meet CLE on Linked in
Low Power Ha...
Spring has arrived, and here at Eco Speaks CLE, we are thinking about SOIL. It is fundamental to all life on earth, so it deserves our attention. In this episode, we speak with Nathan Rutz, the Director of Soil for Tilth Soil. Tilth is an outgrowth of Rust Belt Riders, transforming food waste into a family of soil products that nourish plants, people, and the planet. Join us as we ponder the importance of healthy soil, which Wendel...
In this episode, we learn how BRITE Energy Innovators is helping power the future of energy across Ohio by speaking with Jing Lyon, BRITE's Entrepreneur Programs Director, and Joe Rohan, BRITE's Accelerator Program Manager. BRITE Energy Innovators empowers founders to launch energy technology solutions and operates Ohio's only energy technology incubator in Warren, located in Ohio's "Voltage Valley." O...
Meet members of our local sustainability community and hear from local climate leaders in this episode recorded during our second Eco Meet CLE event in February at Great Lakes Brewing Company. First, meet some of the people in the room and then hear from our climate panelists, featuring County Executive Chris Ronayne, Stephen Love with the Cleveland Foundation, and city and county sustainability directors Sarah O'Keefe and Mik...
In this episode, we celebrate the national park in our backyard by speaking with Deb Yandala, President and CEO of the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and Donté Gibbs, VP of Community Partnerships. The Conservancy is the non-profit partner of Cuyahoga Valley National Park and its biggest supporter. Its 85 staff work to protect and promote the Park while managing its three stores, volunteers, cultural events, educati...
Elena Stachew and Moses Ngong are two young professionals demonstrating the power of youth in action. They lead the Cleveland Hub of Global Shapers. Global Shapers is a diverse community of young people working together to address local, regional, and global challenges through 522 city-based hubs located in 154 countries. In this episode, we get to know Moses and Elena and hear about the Cleveland Hub's work on climate change...
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