Host Diane Bickett and Greg Rotuna produce the Eco Speaks CLE podcast. Photo courtesy of Diane Bickett

By ANDREA C. TURNER
When it came time for Diane Bickett to retire as the executive director of the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District in Spring 2021, she knew she wanted to continue building community around environmental sustainability, education and activism.
After all, she’d spent her 31-year career with a government agency creating programs that promoted waste reduction, recycling and composting, basically trying to eliminate the need for landfills. Not to be confused with the NEORSD (sewer district), she’d built an extensive network of connections of people working to promote a healthy environment and sustainability initiatives in Northeast Ohio.
With her career experience as well as familiarity with doing media interviews, her daughter’s then boyfriend and current husband, Greg Rotuno, a local freelance multimedia producer suggested Bickett start a podcast. He had the equipment and technological skills for recording and production; she had the content knowledge and social network.
Together, in December 2021, they launched Eco Speaks CLE, a podcast highlighting our area’s thriving environmental community. Their first podcast featured Dan and Pat Conway, owners of Great Lakes Brewing Company – one of the first local companies to embrace sustainability in its daily operations.
“It felt great to break out of the one lane of dealing with solid waste, to switching to other lanes [of environmental awareness] where folks focused on keeping the Great Lakes clean, improving water quality, soil and water conservation, solar power energy, and planting pollinator and rain gardens,” said Bickett.
Bickett emphasizes that this is a podcast for both those new to sustainability and experts alike who can connect, learn and live with a healthy planet in mind. “I hesitate to say that the podcast is geared toward the sustainability community because that can be exclusionary. We cover a variety of issues that are of interest to anyone who cares about the planet, their community, and for those who want to do good for it,” she added.
Bickett speaks with environmental leaders who share inspiring stories and offer tips —showcasing the impactful work shaping Cleveland’s environmental future. Rotuno often contributes to the conversation.
New podcast episodes “drop” each month on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Episodes usually run between 35 and 45 minutes.
Recently, she’s interviewed representatives from the Greater Cleveland Beekeepers Association, Blazing Paddles Paddlefest and Holden Arboretum’s Seed Bank to name a few.
The number of listeners continues to grow with each episode, reaching up to 500. The potential for listenership is limitless as the podcasts are available on most podcast apps including Apple, Spotify, Amazon and I-Heart Radio. Listeners can search for Eco Speaks CLE on their favorite app or go to the website:https://ecospeakscle.buzzsprout.com
Bickett says they typically have recorded at Greg’s home in Cleveland’s Edgewater neighborhood, but she enjoys recording “on location” with guests too, making it more convenient for the interviewees. They’ve recorded several on location podcasts, one while hiking with the Cleveland Hiking Club and another talking to farmers at a local farm.
A self-funded project, now in its third year, Eco Speaks CLE seeks interested sponsors. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram. If you know of an organization that could be featured or have an idea for a podcast topic, contact the producers at hello@ecospeakscle.com