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 habitat across three campuses and are also donated to nonprofit partners for restoration efforts. Plant sales are held at the Mastery School campus all summer, with proceeds benefiting this work.

This experiential learning grew out of COVID, when Nick took his Latin classes outdoors and began observing nature on campus. This led him to help plant gardens at his daughter's school and then grow a few seedlings on campus. Nick never grew anything until then, and today, he oversees a registered nursery with hundreds of thriving plants, plus the challenges that come with it, like keeping a greenhouse full of seedlings alive through summer heat. Nick shares how students across grade levels get involved through classes, garden club, and hands-on field days where kids research a plant, collect and sort seeds, pot seedlings, and plant new native gardens.

Nick believes in making space for other species besides our own, and he and his students see the payoff: native bees showing up, insect life returning, and host plants doing their job.

Email Nick - nativeplants@hawken.edu

Learn More: Hawken Native Plant Society and Sales, Hawken Native Gardens,

The Nature of Oaks by Douglas Tallamy

Subscribe for more Northeast Ohio sustainability stories, share this with a friend who cares about pollinators and habitat restoration, and leave a review so more eco-curious listeners can find us.

Support the show

Become a Subscriber

Follow Eco Speaks CLE on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram
Contact - hello@ecospeakscle.com

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 Forestry Outreach Fellow at Holden Forest and Gardens, and Jessica Miller Mecaskey, Consulting Forester with Holden Arboretum’s Working Woods Learning Forest. We also hear some of the people featured in the project: Lola Lewis, Dee Belew, Judy Semroc, and Joan Steidl.

What is forest stewardship? Why should we care? Should forests be left alone or managed? How do good intentions and good management differ? What resources are there for landowners and non-landowners to become better forest stewards? And what career paths can forest lovers pursue? We cover all this and more as Annie talks about how the fellowship project came about and the people she met, and as Jessica shares how the Holden Arboretum's Working Woods Resource Hub and Learning Forest supports landowners through workshops, on-site consulting, and guidance on everything from invasive species to long-term woodland management and restoration.

We should all care about sustainable forestry, urban tree canopy, and land conservation, and Ways to Love a Forest provides inspiration and practical advice from those doing the work and helping us all connect to the land. There is much to explore at the Holden Arboretum this spring. Plan a visit.

Support the show

Become a Subscriber

Follow Eco Speaks CLE on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram
Contact - hello@ecospeakscle.com

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 the Ohio Sierra Club and the Buckeye Environmental Network. In this episode, Jess Grim, one of the organizers, tells us all about the march, what to expect, and how to join. Anyone can participate either for the entire event or just for the day. There will be opportunities to learn about the impacts of fracking on Ohio's public land, see fracking operations firsthand, hike along Ohio's Buckeye Trail, and share meals and conversation. You can join the march by registering by April 16th.

Support the show

Become a Subscriber

Follow Eco Speaks CLE on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram
Contact - hello@ecospeakscle.com