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Cleveland Water Alliance is making Lake Erie the first SMART Great Lake by harnessing technology to monitor water quality, fuel research, drive innovation, and elevate Cleveland's role in the Blue Economy. Max Herzog is a program manager with Cleveland Water Alliance. In this episode, Max invites us to imagine what it would mean to have sensors and other technology collecting data throughout Lake Erie to warn about harmful algal blooms near our water crib or what it would mean for boaters and swimmers to access real-time water quality data or what would it mean for conservation efforts to identify pollution sources and better measure the health of our lake. This is Smart Lake Erie and the work of Cleveland Water Alliance, a visionary non-profit that is deploying creative, new solutions to manage, conserve and optimize our precious water resources.

Guest:
Max Herzog, Program Manager at Cleveland Water Alliance

Resources:
Cleveland Water Alliance
About the Lake Erie Volunteer Science Network
Recommended reading - The Deat and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
Recommended viewing - The Erie Situation documentary

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In this episode, we recap Eco Meet CLE with Victoria Avi and Danielle Doza with Venture Forward Strategies. Danielle and Victoria helped Greg and me organize this meetup for Cleveland's sustainability community on September 20th at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Dan and Pat Conway sponsored the event, along with several other partners. It was an energizing evening of beer, stories, and connecting with the 89 like-minded people who attended. This gathering was inspired by the meetings of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S), which were held in the early days of sustainability and paved the way for the work that is being done today. So how did it go? Join us as we talk about the power of connection and hear the recording of our speakers that evening in case you missed it.

Guests:
Victoria Avi, Partner and Co-Founder of Venture Forward Strategies
Danielle Doza, Partner and Co-Founder of Venture Forward Strategies

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Marci Lininger calls monarch butterflies the guardian angels of the pollinator world. By doing good things for monarchs, we also help a myriad of other species that also need our help. This past summer, the monarch was officially designated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Curious to know more about what that means and what can be done to help, we speak with Marci Lininger, with the Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative, and a returning guest, Amy Roskilly with the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District. In this episode, hear about these fascinating creatures and find out how to help them by collecting milkweed pods and growing the things that monarchs need on their long journey south to Mexico. 

Guests:
Marci Lininger - The Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative
Amy Roskilly - Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District

Resources:
Film - The Flight of the Butterflies
The sound of butterflies
Common Milkweed Pod Collection with the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District
Reading for kids: The Mystery of the Monarchs 

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How does nature move liquids? How does nature manage structural forces? How does nature sense motion and temperature? These are some of the questions that the practice of Biomimicry asks when faced with a design challenge. Our guests, Trisha Brown and Carol Thaler are two Biomimicry practitioners that are helping accelerate innovation based on solutions already tried and tested through nature. They are the Co-Directors of Great Lakes Biomimicry. Since 2010, this organization has worked alongside academia, corporations, and business leaders to solve complex design and engineering challenges by asking "how would nature design it"?   As Biomimicry 3.8 certified specialists, Thaler and Brown help us understand that in nature, there are 3.8 billion years of R&D and 30 million species to learn from. Recently, Great Lakes Biomimicry became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ohio Aerospace Institute and is working to make the great lakes region a leader in biomimicry innovation in aerospace and beyond. Join us as speak about how nature can inspire and guide all of us as we work to live more gently on this planet.

Guests:
Trisha Brown Co-Director, Great Lakes Biomimicry
Carol Thaler Co-Director, Great Lakes Biomimicry

Resources:
About Great Lakes Biomimicry
What is Biomimicry?
Janine Benyus TED Talk
The Biomimicry Institute
University of Akron Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center
ECO MEET CLE event on September 20, 2022 

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Upcycle Parts Shop is a creative reuse center in Cleveland’s St. Clair Superior neighborhood. In this episode, we speak with Nicole McGee, the center's scrappy founder and executive director. Since 2014, the shop has diverted over 47 tons of material from landfills while providing the materials for creative inspiration to local artists and makers. Located in the historic National Slovenian Home on St Clair Avenue, Upcycle Parts Shop is one of several social enterprises in the neighborhood working to do good for people the planet, and the economy. Join us as we take a trip through this eclectic neighborhood and hear Nicole speak about how she became a reuse artist and entrepreneur and how her shop is provoking creativity and promoting community through reuse, resourcefulness, and relationships. She is someone you want to know.     

Guest:
Nicole McGee, Founder and Executive Director of Upcycle Parts Shop

Resources:
Visit Upcycle Parts Shop
Material Donations
Resources for students and teachers
Other cool places in the St Clair Neighborhood - Kafela, Lucky's Charms, Diner on 55th, Goldhorn Brewery, Rebuilder's Exchange

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In this episode, we met up with Stephen Love, founder of Cleveland Plogs for an evening of "plogging", a fitness and litter cleanup craze from Sweden that is quickly spreading throughout the world and right here in CLE.  Cleveland Plogs seeks to inspire a city to discover the joy of plogging by hosting monthly cleanups in the Collinwood neighborhood. We recorded some ploggers talking about why they plog and the issues they care about. We also picked up a lot of trash while doing it. Listen and be inspired to become a plogger or plawker too.

Guest:
Stephen Love, director of environmental initiatives at the Cleveland Foundation

Resources:
Cleveland Plogs
What is Plogging? 

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In this episode, we wrap up our Plastic-Free July series by speaking with local entrepreneur, Rachel Regula, the founder and CEO of Little Spark Refill Shop. Little Spark is Cleveland’s first retail store devoted to sustainable living and zero waste. Her stores in Rocky River and Chagrin Falls offer customers a convenient way to refill household essentials, and personal care products, and purchase products that are safe for people and the planet. Hear Rachel share all the ways we can go plastic free and describe how her own health journey led her to open her shop and help others ignite their passion for sustainability.

Guest:
Rachel Regula - Founder and CEO of Little Spark Refill Shop

Resources:
About Rachel
Some Rachel Picks:  Marley's Monsters, Detergent Sheets, Dryer Balls
Recycling at Little Spark Refill Shop
Plastic Film Recycling  

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In this episode, we kick off Plastic Free July with Elissa Yoder Mann, Conservation Program Manager with Sierra Club Ohio.  According to Elissa, "plastic-free" is more a journey than a destination, given all the ways that plastic packaging has invaded our lives, but there are ways to have a  "plastic-less" life. 

Sierra Club Ohio is participating in the global Plastic-Free July campaign by asking people to join the movement and refuse single-use plastic this month . Take the Plastic Free Pledge and receive weekly email tips, info on events and webinars, a monthly calendar to stay motivated, and more. 

Elissa has been with  Sierra Club Ohio for 8 years. She works on a statewide plastics campaign that focuses on the downstream impacts of plastic, calling out false solutions, and moving away from our take-make-waste system to a sustainable, circular economy. 

Guest:
Elissa Yoder Mann , Conservation Program Manager, Sierra Club Ohio

Resources:
Global Plastic Free July Campaign
Ohio Plastic Free July campaign -  Sierra Club Ohio
Take the Pledge

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This is the first of an Eco Speaks CLE  series on plastic. In this episode, we tackle the subject of plastic pollution with Jill Bartolotta, OSU Extension Educator with Ohio Sea Grant. Jill is a researcher focusing on plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. Her work informs plastics policy, international research, and education projects. Listen and hear Greg take a pop quiz about plastic pollution and hear Jill speak about how microplastics and the overuse of disposable plastics threaten our Great Lakes. There are many ways that each of us can be part of the solutions to protect our lakes, and many resources are available to help us learn more. Our discussion gears us up to participate in Plastic Free July, a global movement that helps people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. More on that in our next episode!   

Guest:
Jill Bartolotta, Ohio Sea Grant College Program Extension Educator

Resources:
About Jill 
Pop Quiz - Plastic in the Great Lakes
Plastic Free July - Take the Challenge
The Story of Plastic documentary
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan 
Countdown by Dr. Shanna Swan
Life Without Plastic by Chantal Plamondon

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In this episode, we talk about recycling and circularity in the City of Cleveland. After a long hiatus, curbside recycling returns to Cleveland on June 13th, and here to tell us about the reinstated program and how to participate, is Cleveland’s Recycling Coordinator, Orensel  Brumfield. Also joining us to talk about the Circular Cleveland initiative is Cathi Lehn, the Manager for Sustainable Cleveland. Circular Cleveland is a 30-month initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that is identifying ways to develop and implement circular economic strategies that provide community-wide benefits by designing waste and pollution out of our economic system, keeping products and materials in use as long as possible, protecting and regenerating natural systems, and creating new jobs. The Circular Cleveland initiative is a partnership between the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and Neighborhood Connections. Join us to hear the ideas and programs taking shape for using "waste as a resource" and creating a more circular and sustainable Cleveland and region. 

Guests:
Orensel (Ren) Brumfield - Recycling Coordinator, City of Cleveland
Cathi Lehn - Sustainable Cleveland Manager, Mayor's Office of Sustainability

Resources:
Recycle Cleveland Program Information
The Circular Cleveland Initiative
Circular Cleveland Partners  and Grants- Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and Neighborhood Connections
Donation Guide - Pass it On:  A Resource-Full Guide to Donating Usable Stuff
Cuyahoga Recycles (city by city) recycling information

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