Shows
ECO SPEAKS CLEAn Eco Bite with Rust Belt RidersSend a textAn 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 then, Rust Belt Ri...
2026-03-1214 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEShaping Sustainable Economies with Elizabeth SchusterSend a textAs 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. Hear how her strategies apply to any organization seeking to incorporate a sustainability and a community mindset into their work with examples from projects with The Cleveland Museum o...
2026-02-2633 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEClear the Clutter and Your Mind with Devon Fegen-HerdmanSend a textAre 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 planet requires rethinking our relationship with our material things. Li...
2026-01-1338 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEEco Meet CLE - Cleveland's Blue EconomySend a textOur 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 beer-drinking group with a sustainability problem. It works. Eco Meet events are a fun way...
2025-12-1148 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEUrban Planning and Cleveland's Great Bones with Isaac RobbSend a textCities 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 2105. The Western Reserve Land Conservancy is a land trust known for farmland preservation, but also built a robus...
2025-11-1833 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEBeyond Plastics with Brodie LongoSend a textBrodie Longo is a young organizer and director of the Northeast Ohio chapter of Beyond Plastics. This grassroots organization works to combat plastic pollution and the use of single-use plastics through education and activism. In this episode, Brodie speaks about what it's been like starting a local Beyond Plastics chapter and how, at just 23 years old, he found himself leading in ways he did not expect. Together with his steering committee and volunteers, Brodie is building momentum against single-use plastic, from hosting nurdle patrols and beach cleanups to venue recycling...
2025-10-1428 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEStarve the Landfills with Gateway RecyclingSend a textAnthony Iovine is the sales manager for Gateway Products Recycling, a family-owned paper recycling company, in business for over 30 years in Ohio and Pennsylvania. When asked why he loves his job, he says it's "waking up every day to save the planet - one bale of cardboard at a time." Paper recycling has been around since about 1031 AD, and is one of recycling’s success stories. The U.S. recycles around 46 million tons of fiber annually, according to the American Forest and Paper Association. In this episode, Anthony bus...
2025-08-2630 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEA CLEANR Way to Wash with Max PenningtonSend a textDid you know that laundry is the #1 source of microplastic pollution? With every load of laundry, millions of tiny plastic particles come off our synthetic clothes, down the drain, and into our waterways. In this episode, we speak with Max Pennington, Co-Founder and CEO of CLEANR. Max and his partners may have the solution to plastic pollution we've been looking for. His Cleveland-based company recently launched a patented filter that captures up to 90% of all microplastics from your washing machine before they enter the drain. Max developed this breakthrough technology...
2025-07-2431 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEInlet Dance Theatre- Using Dance to Further People and SustainabilitySend a textInlet Dance Theatre is a modern dance company in Cleveland, founded in 2001 by our guest, Bill Wade, a renowned dancer and choreographer who uses the power of dance to further people and explore human, societal, and environmental issues through movement. Located within the Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression on West 25th Street in Cleveland, Inlet's Dance Studio is called The Estuary, reflecting the company's nature-based and sustainability themes. Inlet's mission aligns with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, which promote health and well-being, quality education, equality, a...
2025-07-0835 min
ECO SPEAKS CLERid-All Green Partnership and Cleveland's Food RevolutionSend a textIn this episode, we head to the Rid-All Farm to speak with Keymah Durden, a co-founder of Rid-All Green Partnership. What was once a notorious dumping ground in Cleveland's "Forgotten Triangle", the farm is now one of the largest minority-owned urban farms and a nationally recognized model for urban agriculture, environmental stewardship, and resilience. In this episode, Keymah talks about how Rid-All is growing communities and changing Lives. Rid-All was originally a pest control company started by farm co-founder Damien Forsche. As he worked in public housing projects, D...
2025-06-1046 min
ECO SPEAKS CLENEO Youth Climate Summit Keynote with Sage LenierSend a textOn Friday, April 11, over 300 high school students from across northeast Ohio gathered for the 2025 NEO Youth Climate Summit, hosted by Laurel School and Global Shapers Cleveland. The event brought students together to discuss and collaborate on solutions for climate change, sustainability, and environmental justice.The summit was kicked off with a keynote address by a young climate activist, Sage Lenier. Sage was honored by TIME Magazine as a 2023 Next Generation Leader. She started teaching about climate change while still a student at UC Berkeley...
2025-05-0637 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEThe Cleveland Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights with Renee BoronkaSend a textHappy Earth Day! In this episode, we discuss the importance of connecting kids with nature and the Cleveland Outdoor Bill of Rights, with Renee Boronka, Director of Conservation Education and Outreach at the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. The Cleveland Outdoor Bill of Rights outlines twelve fundamental nature experiences every child deserves, from breathing clean air to camping under starry skies. What began as a grant-funded project to better connect urban youth with nature evolved into a collaboration between environmental organizations, libraries, schools, and community g...
2025-04-2228 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEPreserving our History on the Towpath Trail with Canalway PartnersSend a textMera Cardenas is a historic preservationist working to connect people to place as the Executive Director of Canalway Partners. We are the people, and the place is the historic Towpath Trail, located within the Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area. The 100-mile Towpath Trail from Cleveland to New Philadelphia follows what once was a significant transportation artery from the mid-1800s until the railroads came. The trail was completed in 2021 when the final section was constructed in Cleveland, ending at Canal Basin Park following 40 years of...
2025-03-2538 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEA New Era of Apparel with Aidan Meany of Found SurfaceSend a textAidan Meany is a young clothing entrepreneur defining a new era of apparel. His team at Found Surface uses 21st-century technology and traditional, natural fibers to produce eco-friendly clothing for companies looking for ethically and thoughtfully produced garments. His new factory in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood is one of the first in the nation to use digital knitting machines to make clothing that is plastic-free, waste-free, and guilt-free. Aidan found his place in the design industry after educating himself about the fast fashion industry and the toll of...
2025-02-2044 min
ECO SPEAKS CLESustainability and the CAVS with Danielle DozaSend a textIn our first episode of 2025, we discuss sports and sustainability with Danielle Doza, the Cleveland Cavaliers' Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Services. As the first executive-level professional in the NBA, Danielle shares how the CAVS organization integrates award-winning eco-friendly practices in fresh and exciting new ways and the collaborative spirit driving sustainability within sports organizations. Join us as Danielle speaks about her dream job and key initiatives at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. These initiatives, including recycling, energy efficiency, education, and various partnerships with WM, Found S...
2025-01-2139 min
ECO SPEAKS CLESara Continenza and Food Strong's Big Project, The Superior FarmSend a textJoin us as we wrap up 2024 with community leader and food sovereignty advocate Sara Continenza. Sara is the founder and executive director of Food Strong, a non-profit connecting kids with food since 2016. Sara and her staff work with the Cleveland Municipal School District and other inner-city schools to provide hands-on learning experiences in gardening, nutrition, and entrepreneurship. Recently, Food Strong's mission to educate, empower, and cultivate health through fresh foods just got a significant boost. Community Greenhouse Partners recently gifted them a three-acre farm site on Superior Avenue...
2024-12-1935 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEEco Meet CLE: Open Mic NightSend a textEco Meet CLE is a gathering of Cleveland's environmental community, organized by the Eco Speaks CLE podcast and friends, to share a beer, have fun, and connect the people and the threads of the exciting work happening in our region. We recorded this episode during our seventh Eco Meet held recently at our favorite watering hole, Great Lakes Brewing Company. This evening featured an "open mic" where people shared news of their work, sought collaborators and promoted opportunities. Ours is a vibrant community with a common denominator: we care about our planet...
2024-11-2154 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEThe Making of "Ripples of Plastic" with Filmmaker Chris LangerSend a textIn this episode, Cleveland filmmaker Chris Langer speaks with us speak about his new documentary, Ripples of Plastic, which premiered this year at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival and locally at the Chagrin Falls Documentary Film Fest. Chris is a director, producer, and cinematographer and owns Wonderhouse Films in Cleveland. Ripples of Plastic is Chris's first documentary film, which he began during COVID to expose the vast problem of plastic pollution present in our Great Lakes and its effects on aquatic life and human health. Chris tells t...
2024-11-0736 min
ECO SPEAKS CLECome Along for a Ride with Slow Roll ClevelandSend a textIf you need a reason to love Mondays, Slow Roll Cleveland is it. In this episode, Greg and I join Slow Roll Cleveland and several hundred other cyclists for a leisurely-paced bike parade through our urban streets. Slow Roll Cleveland hosts these ten-mile Monday evening rides during warmer months to highlight Cleveland neighborhoods and bring joy and community to riders and residents alike. Our slow roll took off from Shaker Square and took us through the Shaker, Buckeye, and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods. It was a blast. Hundreds of cyclists on...
2024-10-1520 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEChoosing a Renewable Energy Supplier with Jenn McMillin of SOPECSend a textAre you curious about making smarter, greener choices for your electricity supply? In this episode, we speak with Jennifer McMillin with the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC). Jenn is SOPEC's Regional Director for Northeast Ohio and provides tips and insights for choosing a 100% renewable energy supplier for your electricity needs. SOPEC is a leader in community choice aggregation in Ohio, providing competitive rates and substantial savings to residents in member communities, including the City of Cleveland. In Ohio, we can choose where our electricity comes fr...
2024-09-2436 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEChair-ity: Furnishing a Helping Hand for Youth Graduating Foster CareSend a text"Adulting' is hard, but it's exponentially harder if you are 18 years old and aging out of foster care, alone and without a support system. Here in Cleveland, there's an organization helping to ease the transition by providing donated furniture and household goods to young people who have graduated from foster care and moved into a place of their own. That organization is called Chair-ity, and in this episode, we speak with its founder and executive director, Maria Paparella. Chair-ity is a non-profit based in Cleveland that...
2024-09-0434 min
ECO SPEAKS CLEBonus Clip: A Chair-ity Success StorySend a textIn this bonus to our conversation with Maria Paparella, Maria shares a personal story of one of the young adults she deeply connected with through her organization Chair-ity. This young adult faced several challenges as she aged out of the foster care system and started life on her own. But with her perseverance, strength, intelligence, and support from Maria, she has become one of the many Chair-ity success stories. This organization truly makes a difference, one person at a time. Support the showBecome a Subscriber
2024-09-0410 min