ECO SPEAKS CLE
ECO SPEAKS CLE
Diane Bickett and Greg Rotuno
ECO SPEAKS CLE is the podcast for the eco-curious in Northeast Ohio. In each episode, we speak with local sustainability leaders and invite listeners to connect, learn, and live with our community and planet in mind. Hear from the people and organizations that make our region a great place to live, work, and play. ECO SPEAKS CLE is hosted by Diane Bickett and produced by Greg Rotuno. 
How Recycling Works at a MRF with WM
Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder what happens to your recyclables once they leave the curb? In this episode, we tour WM's Cleveland Material Recycling Facility MRF) and speak with Frank Fello, Area Vice President, who shares what happens at the MRF and why it is important to Recycle Right. WM (Formerly, Waste Management) is one of North America’s leading providers of solid waste management services. The facility we toured is located in Oakwood Village, Ohio, and recently underwent a $30 mil...
Aug 17
32 min
Aboard the Mark W Barker with Kate Wells and Captain Weber
Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder about those freighters on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland's Flats? Watching them navigate our crooked river is such a unique experience. More than 600 feet long, they share the shipping channel with recreational boaters, kayakers, and paddleboarders as they transport ore upriver to our steel mills. For this episode, Greg and I sat down with Kate Wells, Manager of Environmental Stewardship and Quality for the Interlake Steamship Company, to hear about the ship, sus...
Jul 28
36 min
An Eco Bite with Nick Fletcher - Hawken Native Plant Society
Send us Fan Mail Summer is here, and we're at the Mastery School of Hawken's Native Plant Sale in University Circle for an Eco Bite with Nick Fletcher. Nick is a high school Latin teacher who started one of the most practical environmental education projects around - the Hawken Native Plant Society. Along with his colleague Claudia Tausz and students of all grade levels, Nick oversees the cultivation of more than 230 plant species native to Northeast Ohio. The plants help improve habita...
Jun 30
17 min
Forest Stories with Annie Weight and Jessica Miller Mecaskey
Send us Fan Mail There are many ways to love a forest, and in this episode, we introduce you to a variety of forest stewards who are nurturing our region's woodlands. They are featured in a Holden Forest & Gardens project called Ways to Love a Forest: Stories of Woodland Stewardship in Northeast Ohio, a booklet that includes interviews with educators, landowners, scientists, and community leaders. Sharing these stories and ways we can all be stewards of our land are Annie Weight, former F...
Apr 23
32 min
An Eco Bite on The Great Ohio Climate March
Send us Fan Mail The Great Ohio Climate March is happening May 16-28, 2026. The purpose of this march is to draw attention to the impacts of fracking on Ohio’s public lands, the climate crisis, and the benefits of renewable energy. The southern Ohio route passes through areas impacted by fracking and begins in Athens, Ohio, travels through Salt Fork State Park, and ends at the Statehouse. The march is organized by Third Act Ohio, in partnership with 20 environmental organizations, including t...
Apr 3
14 min
An Eco Bite with Rust Belt Riders
Send us Fan Mail An Eco Bite is a "mini” episode of Eco Speaks CLE. In this shorter format, we reconnect with a past guest or showcase someone new, all in under 15 minutes. In this quick episode, we catch up with Rust Belt Riders and founder Michael Robinson to find out what's new with our favorite worker-owned food waste composting company in Cleveland, Ohio. We first interviewed Rust Belt Riders back in 2022. It was our 4th episode, and we had Dan Brown and Zoe Apisdorf on the show. Since t...
Mar 12
14 min
Shaping Sustainable Economies with Elizabeth Schuster
Send us Fan Mail As an environmental economist, Elizabeth Schuster helps conservation organizations solve complex challenges at the intersection of nature and communities. In this episode, Elizabeth describes how her firm, Sustainable Economies, applies systems-level thinking to messy, long-horizon environmental problems to turn them into clear, shared action. Her clients include watershed districts, non-profits, park districts, and various local and national environmental organizations.&nbsp...
Feb 26
33 min
Clear the Clutter and Your Mind with Devon Fegen-Herdman
Send us Fan Mail Are you living with too much stuff? Help is on the way! In this first episode of 2026, we help you clear the clutter with Devon Fegen-Herdman, owner of Declutter with Devon. Devon is a professional home organizer, former social worker, and a founding member of Upcycle Parts Shop, our favorite arts reuse center in Cleveland. Most people agree they have too much stuff, and they struggle with managing it all. Choosing to live differently and more gently on the plane...
Jan 13
38 min
Eco Meet CLE - Cleveland's Blue Economy
Send us Fan Mail Our region's water isn’t just running through our taps; it is shaping our region and our future. Cleveland is a waterfront city, and in this episode, you will hear how technology, entrepreneurship, destination development, maritime trade, and recreation are blossoming under our culture of freshwater stewardship. This recording is from Eco Meet CLE, a gathering of local sustainability leaders held on November 18th at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Some have called us a bee...
Dec 10, 2025
48 min
Urban Planning and Cleveland's Great Bones with Isaac Robb
Send us Fan Mail Cities don’t forget—their land remembers. In this episode, we speak with Isaac Robb, Chief Urban Program Officer at Western Reserve Land Conservancy, and explore how his organization works to turn Cleveland's vacant and underutilized land into living assets, including neighborhood parks, memorial gardens, and reforestation programs that cool, calm, and reconnect neighborhoods. Hear what Isaac loves most about Cleveland and what surprised him most when first coming here in 210...
Nov 18, 2025
33 min
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