Stormwater Starts at Home: Watershed Stewardship Center

Cleveland Metroparks has always been a preserver and protector of our valleys and the waters that run through them. In 2013, it opened the Watershed Stewardship Center in Parma's West Creek Reservation with a mission to enhance and protect our urban watersheds through scientific discovery, education, and sustainable actions. In this episode, we speak with the center's manager, Bethany Majeski, and the Director of Natural Resources for Cleveland Metroparks, Jennifer Grieser, about how protecting our urban watersheds is so vital for our region and ways we can all be stewards of our local watersheds starting at home where stormwater runoff begins. 

Guests:
Jennifer Grieser: Director of Natural Resources for Cleveland Metroparks,
Bethany Majeski: Watershed Stewardship Center Manager

Resources:
Confluence: Stewarding Cleveland's Water
Central Lake Erie Basin Collaborative
World Water Day - March 22
Cleveland Metroparks Seasonal Job Fair March 11 

Transcript

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Diane Bickett 0:04

You're listening to EcoSpeak CLE , where the EcoCurious explore the unique and thriving environmental community here in Northeast Ohio . My name is Diane Bickett and my producer is Greg Rotuno . Together , we bring you inspiring stories from local sustainability leaders and invite you to connect , learn and live with our community and planet in mind .

Greg Rotuno 0:27

This episode is sponsored by Good Nature Organic Long Shared , founded in Cleveland in 1999 , to help you have a beautiful yard without the chemicals . No insecticides , herbicides or fungicides , no science , just high quality soil building materials to build a healthy lawn that fights weeds naturally . Call today and mention EcoSpeak CLE to get $50 off in early spring treatment .

Diane Bickett 0:49

Thank you , greg . Hello friends , greg and I are recording today in Parma in the Cleveland Metro Parks Watershed Stewardship Center . When you think of Parma , things like pierogies , punch geese and the schnitzel house may come to mind , or you may think dense suburb with old world charm . Parma is all those things . But here in the 7th most populous city in Ohio is the 469 acre West Creek Reservation . It is Cleveland Metro Parks 16th Reservation and it preserves a valley with rocky gorges , forested hillsides , flood plains and the tributary that runs through it , west Creek .

Diane Bickett 1:25

Today's conversation is a great follow up to our last episode with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District , because now we're going to focus on the water above the ground and how protecting our urban watersheds and managing storm water runoff is so important to our region . Speaking with us today are two watershed experts with the Cleveland Metro Parks . We have Bethany Majeski . She is the center manager for the Cleveland Metro Parks Watershed Stewardship Center and Jennifer Greiser . She is the director of natural resources for Cleveland Metro Parks . Welcome Jen , welcome Bethany . Hello , hi , good evening . So it's a very windy day here . It was like 50 mile an hour , winds blowing me all the way west today , but we're here .

Bethany Majeski 2:10

Not a good day to walk in the woods Right .

Diane Bickett 2:13

I was going to come early , but then no , it changed my mind . So can we start with you , just Bethany and Jen , talking about your roles here at the Cleveland Metro Parks .

Bethany Majeski 2:24

Sure . So yeah , I'm the center manager , so that means that I get to kind of keep a oversee the whole facility in terms of the operations of it . But the really great part that I love the most is working with the education component . So we've got a staff here of naturalists who are educators and we like to say that we interpret the natural world , we interpret science for people . So in the center here you'll see exhibits and live animals and we'll bring out a snake for you when you come in with your family and just provide a friendly and welcoming atmosphere and kind of get people comfortable here and excited about exploring a little deeper once they come and getting more you know into why we're here and thinking about their actions . So it's kind of like the visitor development staff where we're encouraging people to come have introductory experiences and then we hope to grow those with you know , programming relationships , repeat visits and get people to become stewards ultimately .

Diane Bickett 3:31

Awesome . Well , we'll talk a little bit more about the Stewardship Center , but we'll turn to Jen now . And what is the director of natural resources responsible for ?

Jennifer Grieser 3:41

So I work throughout the park system , our 25,000 acres , across our variety of watersheds from Rocky River watershed on the west over to Euclid Creek watershed on the east and oversee a staff that I liken it to behind the scenes work . We're behind the scenes making sure our forests and wetlands and streams and floodplains can just function to the best of their abilities and provide excellent habitat for all the wildlife that call Northeast Ohio home . How long have you been with Metro Parks ? I have been with Metro Parks for 13 years and before that , before that , I worked for New York City Department of Environmental Protection . Really , yes , upstate in the Catskills though .

Jennifer Grieser 4:28

So , I worked for the stream management program and the Catskills provide 90% of the water , of the drinking water to the New York City and the 9 million users along the way .

Diane Bickett 4:43

And Bethany , how long have you worked here ?

Bethany Majeski 4:44

I started here at Cleveland Metro Parks in 2007 so coming up on my 17th year and have worked in various locations throughout the park , but West Creek has quickly become my favorite .

Diane Bickett 4:56

That's for sure . And you said you were an education major , English major , I'm sorry .

Bethany Majeski 5:02

English major yeah if you want to hear me do some Canterbury tales in Middle . English no , we don't . Oh that's a sister was in Another podcast .

Diane Bickett 5:12

So let's talk first about West Creek and this tributary that runs from Brabview Heights to Independence where it joins the Cuyahoga River . How has it been impacted over the years by residential , commercial and industrial development , really since World War II ? Who wants to talk about that ?

Jennifer Grieser 5:31

Sure , so one West Creek is a pretty urbanized watershed , Lots of hard surfaces . Just looking at the map of the watershed you can see streets that basically line the upland area of West Creek . And then West Creek is at the bottom of a fairly deep gorge ravine and yeah , so you mentioned the development kind of the development boom after World War II , and so it is a lot of residential housing , mixed use , and then we have businesses along the way and a bit of industry as you get closer to Cleveland , at that where the West Creek meets the Cuyahoga River .

Diane Bickett 6:25

And when you come into the stewardship center , there's a 3D model of West Creek and the area around it and it is just rows of housing , developments , that kind of line , the entire river , and the river shoots down this gorge . But so was the goal of creating this reservation back in 2006 to kind of protect the creek and manage the natural beauty that was already here that had not been impacted .

Jennifer Grieser 7:00

I think the goal was to first to provide Cleveland Metro Park services and engagement to a new community . We didn't have any land management areas within the city of Parma , so really working with West Creek Conservancy to transform this into a reservation and , like you mentioned , that was in 2006 . And then the Watershed Stewardship Center opened in 2013 . So there was a little time there where it was fairly undeveloped , no-transcript , and it was when the center was built that we had the new parking lots and started to get more defined trail system and the center itself really guided the more of that watershed protection stormwater management mission that now embodies the whole reservation and and the park has been added on to over time it started off with .

Diane Bickett 8:05

So you just is that home . Cleveland Metro Parks Operates . In the sense that you're just start , I don't know where I'm going . No that's good . Yes , start with some acreage and then you try to add on more acreage and keep growing , and sure that's still happening here . Yes , absolutely .

Jennifer Grieser 8:24

I mean that that sort of gets to the roots are our 100 plus year history started with a small , modest acreage and Different leadership has definitely definitely had different emphasis on the acquisition and conservation of property . But our current CEO , brian Zimmerman , definitely is highly supportive of conservation of property and as such , with our great partnership with West Creek Conservancy , just added over a hundred acres to West Creek reservation the end of last year . So that's a huge milestone when we think about how built out the West Creek watershed is that we could add that significant acreage and , yeah , under Brian Zimmerman , the , the expansion of the park has been phenomenal and taking over edge water .

Diane Bickett 9:17

And now the , the new Park along Lake Erie in Euclid for Collinwood .

Jennifer Grieser 9:25

What so ? Wildwood , villa Angela , euclid Beach ?

Diane Bickett 9:28

Yes , yeah , yes that's gonna be very exciting . Are all the parks kind of Focused around a watershed or ?

Jennifer Grieser 9:35

most of them . I'm so glad that you asked that question because I have been on a little journey the last couple of years Looking through old files To really for records retention sounds kind of boring but it has sent me into these historical documents and one day I opened up a bin and found our first emerald necklace report from 1919 and and then the second one and I'm paging through it and Every picture was stream based , except for one in those and and it really did speak to our . Our initial Mission as an organization was really valley-based . So that's why you see today we we have so much property along these major waterways like Rocky River , kaya , hoga River , euclid Creek .

Diane Bickett 10:32

So , bethany , tell us more about the watershed stewardship center , how that came to be , how that was funded and when did it ? I mean , what was the Thinking behind creating this education research center in the Mila Parma ?

Bethany Majeski 10:48

sure so the center itself just Celebrated its 10th anniversary last year . Congratulations , which was a great milestone .

Bethany Majeski 10:57

And I think the concept of it is so unique as a model because it really exists as a partnership Cleveland Metro Parks , obviously , but then , just as importantly , northeast Ohio Regional sewer district and West Creek Conservancy and the city of Parma itself . They're , you know , very active partners with us . We regularly collaborate on events and programs and have a really robust committee that steers the direction Collectively of the center and its initiatives . So it's really unique . You know when do you get government park and public utility and a nonprofit and they're all working together in a really Effective way and it's it's pretty awesome to see the synergy there .

Bethany Majeski 11:41

So on the public facing side , our center is open seven days a week , 9 , 30 to 5 . It's a nice , comfortable place . I mean , you know we're really looking like meet mask . Those needs right . You come in nice bathroom got water fountain , comfy place to sit , air conditioning , you know , in the summer and heat when it's cold . So people we want to attract people in when they're recreating in the park but also invite them in because ultimately that goal is to move up that pyramid and get people to take on a stewardship role . So we try to market programming to all audiences , really recognizing that everybody does have a role to play as a homeowner , as a citizen in the community , and can take action to help make it better and healthier . So you'll find us doing preschool programs , school programs , summer camps , adult workshops all kinds of great opportunities , really trying to provide something for everybody . And what I love about it is it does have this very strong core theme and identity that is based around watersheds and the protection of them and the personal action we could take .

Diane Bickett 12:57

Do all the ? Does all the programming take place in the center , or do you go out and get into the creek and get dirty ? Yeah , we want to go outside .

Bethany Majeski 13:09

We want to get kids outside . We want to take people outside . The center is a great place to visit and learn , but , yeah , that experiential part outdoors is very , very important . So we do . You know our summer camps . We might have the kids out for six hours and they're playing in the creek and dipping for macroinvertebrates in the wetlands and exploring what those things are and learning about their importance , and catching toads and all of the fun things that you should experience in childhood . But all those things have a conservation route too right , like if we didn't protect them , those things wouldn't be here to discover and to play with . So it's a very rewarding thing to do .

Diane Bickett 13:49

Yes , well , I think you need some adult ed programming to go do the same kind of things in the creek .

Bethany Majeski 13:56

Camp for adults . Yeah , I think one of our nature centers is offering that yeah .

Diane Bickett 14:02

Really which ?

Bethany Majeski 14:03

one , I think canalway don't . Oh really , they're going to get mad . If they're listening , they don't have one lined up .

Jennifer Grieser 14:09

Now they do .

Diane Bickett 14:14

You were talking , bethany , about what's unique about this partnership between the utility and the community and the metro parks and educators too . Can you talk , Jen , a little bit about how sort of the history , with the voters of Parma making all this possible ?

Jennifer Grieser 14:34

Sure . Well , I just think it's a remarkable story when I have this perception that when people hear the word Parma they don't think of environmental action . And then I came to West Creek and learned that's wrong . This location had a landfill in the 1980s that closed and , as I understand it , the mayor at the time was looking to potentially redevelop that space . And community citizens came together , which was the beginning of what is now called West Creek Conservancy , and they really rallied together around saying we're not interested in that development . We want to preserve this open space and the natural functions surrounding the area . And long story short , you can get more details from Derek Schaefer at West Creek another time . But they ultimately it was the voters of Parma that voted in favor of preserving this property , and so West Creek Conservancy really was the manager of it for a number of years until they basically we signed a 100 year lease or maybe it's a 99 year lease a dollar a year to take over the management .

Diane Bickett 15:57

Okay . So I just think it's a cool story because it started off the West Creek Preservation Committee , so that just brings to mind a group of people who cared , yeah , yeah , and look what they were able to accomplish . So , yeah , we will have a interview with Derek Schaefer , the head of the West Creek Conservancy , at some point . He wasn't able to make it tonight , but you'll have fun with that , bethany , I understand that the stewardship center was like the first facility in the Cleveland Metro Parks to be dedicated to scientific research

Watershed Stewardship Center Research

Diane Bickett 16:32

. How was that research performed and shared throughout the park and with other parties ?

Bethany Majeski 16:37

Yeah , so another really interesting thing that makes the center here different than the other four visitor centers in Cleveland Metro Parks is that we are a collaboration not just of our educators and the outdoor experiences team but also work very closely with Jen and her team and natural resources . So we often get to be privy to some of the cutting edge research their teams are doing , get an advance on new tools they're developing , like the tree selector tool , and really work together . You know their team supports our events and we will do some cross pollination with the watershed volunteer program and really just have the chance to interpret that science that they're doing . So there's a wet lab here at the center and you can walk by and see the wetland ecologist in there working identifying plant samples and that's something that people can see and observe and might ask us questions what are they doing in there ? And we can help provide kind of that interface between the experts and the public . How many ecologists work here ?

Jennifer Grieser 17:51

Ooh , I've never counted them , but it is also a unique facility in that a number of our natural resources staff they're based out of here . So , like Bethany mentioned , our wetland ecologists , we have our field research manager , our senior conservation science manager , our we have our stream restoration ecologist , as well as additional support staff . So , let's say , 10 roundabouts .

Diane Bickett 18:24

Didn't mean to put you on the spot , no , that's okay . Let's talk a little bit about stormwater management . When you and I were talking , jen , last week , you said stormwater starts at home . Can you explain ?

Jennifer Grieser 18:38

that ? Yeah for sure , if we think about our typical house with a roof and a driveway , and rain hits those hard surfaces and it needs to go somewhere , and so that's the beginning of stormwater runoff . And often it's not in your home , it's true .

Jennifer Grieser 18:56

Yes , and so , typically , where is it going to run off ? To the lowest point ? And so it finds that great in the road which is the storm sewer . And ultimately many of those storm sewers become what we call primary headwaters or our smallest streams . And then those primary headwaters go down the ravine and flow together to become West Creek , which eventually flows into the Cuyahoga River . And so when we look at our creeks and rivers around us , much of that is made up of stormwater runoff .

Diane Bickett 19:33

And so , as opposed to how you know , nature manages stormwater through wetlands and flood plains , and if all that's paved over like it is here in Parma , what are you doing ? How are you working to kind of replicate those natural models so the stormwater is being managed in a more

Managing Stormwater through Green Infrastructure

Diane Bickett 19:53

natural way .

Jennifer Grieser 19:54

We call that nature-based solutions and in a stormwater context it's a variety of mechanisms bio retention , green roofs , capturing in rain barrels or cisterns , stormwater wetlands On the residential streets adjacent to West Creek . We were fortunate to receive US EPA grant funding to actually actively recruit homeowners that might be interested in installing rain barrels and rain gardens and that was an awesome collaboration with Kent State University , west Creek Conservancy and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District because we could actually measure whether or not that would make a difference . And it was so interesting to think about the recruitment process and trying to do street meetings and word of mouth et cetera . And I was really kind of stressed because initially we didn't have a ton of homeowners involved , but the great news was that we out of the 30 households that participated . Collectively they reduced the peak stormwater flows by 30% .

Diane Bickett 21:06

Wow .

Greg Rotuno 21:07

So a really measurable difference .

Jennifer Grieser 21:09

Yeah , it was , and in a way , I think back and I'm like gosh , if we had everybody participating , we wouldn't be able to tease out that , how important individual action is , that every single home really matters , and so that was a really cool project to work on . How many homes participated .

Diane Bickett 21:30

did you say 30 households , 30 , okay .

Jennifer Grieser 21:31

Yeah , out of a couple hundred that were eligible in our target streets .

Diane Bickett 21:36

Okay , Do you offer rain barrel workshops here at the center ?

Bethany Majeski 21:40

We do . Yeah , we have our spring lineup coming up so we'll be offering some here at West Creek Reservation at the center , but also try and regionalize those a little bit because we do have the four other locations nature centers and visitor center in Cleveland Metro Park so we'll be hosting at least one or two workshops at each of those locations as well . That's something folks can go online and look up or give us a call if you need the dates or anything . But it's a really great program , great way you take home the entire kit and the connector and everything you need to install a rain barrel at your house and , yeah , it's pretty impactful On my list things I've been meaning to do .

Diane Bickett 22:24

I have three of them . Yeah , rain garden is also on my list . I went through the Chagrin Watership Partners rain garden course and have yet to make it happen . There's some math involved with trying to calculate the area of runoff from your property and sizing it right .

Greg Rotuno 22:47

Ask your husband . He's confident in math .

Diane Bickett 22:49

Yeah .

Bethany Majeski 22:50

Confident , confident Versus competent .

Diane Bickett 22:53

Yeah , gotcha , but it was a great course and learned all about the plants , and I mean they take you step by step through everything you need to do is like a five or six week course , but so you also offer those here we actually were the .

Jennifer Grieser 23:10

We helped originate those courses . Okay , yeah , so we're really fortunate to have ongoing support from Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for professional trainings . Outside speakers supports our Watership Volunteer Program and had actually seen the woman , susan Bryant from Washtenaw County in Michigan or in the Ann Arbor area . She was had this master rain gardener program there and had seen how effective it was at by walking people step by step through the process that they were more likely to actually do a rain garden than just a quick 90 minute overview . Yeah , so we were able to bring her in and host some of those courses here . And then , fortunately , we love that Sugar and River Watershed Partners and Kayoga County Soil and Water Conservation District really kind of took that on and kept it going .

Diane Bickett 24:05

Oh well , thank you for bringing that program here . That's really , that's pretty amazing . So what ? So we talk about rain barrels and rain gardens to kind of manage water on your property . What other actions can individuals take to just be a good watershed steward ?

Jennifer Grieser 24:24

Well , it's funny you ask that because I'm thinking of the residential stormwater program that we did . That helped bring rain barrel and rain gardens to one of the homes that was participating and then that really got that person interested in watersheds as a whole . So he got involved in our watershed volunteer program . He became a certified steward and then he even decided to change his lawn over to an organic lawn using good nature lawn care .

Diane Bickett 24:58

Wow , that's awesome . We did not plant that .

Jennifer Grieser 25:03

Yeah , it's so . That was just . Those are the types of watershed journeys we love to see . We have another individual who volunteers at the center in a whole variety of ways , who has partnered with Padua High School on environmental stewardship at their school and even started a storm drain stenciling and marking project in the neighborhood's adjacent to us , and that was an idea he came up with and proposed it and we were able to support him in that work . And that's what we want to see is people learning about things and then taking action at home .

Good Nature organic Lawn Care Promo

Diane Bickett 25:43

Well , segue to a little promo for good nature organic lawn care . In addition to the organic , chemical free lawn and yard care services they offer , they also offer another other chemical free solutions , including solutions to keep mosquitoes , ticks and fleas out of your yard without chemicals , programs to keep outside bugs from crawling into your house , and things like mice and other critters . So these are all chemical free alternatives that good nature organic lawn care offers , and for EcoSpeaks listeners are offering $50 off . So call them and mention EcoSpeaks CLE and they'd be happy to get you on the schedule . So thank you , Alec McClennon . All right , very nice , bethany , do you have anything to add in terms of individual actions and just ways people can become more aware , like how would someone find out what watershed they're in if they don't already know , and what local watershed groups might they connect with ?

Bethany Majeski 26:52

Yeah , I mean , I love Jen's slogan that you know , stormwater , health really starts at home and this all originates . You know , we have a very , very big impact on what's going down our drains and I honestly I remember being a kid and looking at the drain in our garage and just looking down this hole and being like where does this even go ?

Bethany Majeski 27:16

And I think I remember asking my dad and he's like I don't know . Yeah , and you know , we just don't think about it . It's like that same sentiment is when you throw your trash away . Well , where is away ? Right , there is no way .

Individual Awareness and Action

Bethany Majeski 27:29

Yeah , we try and be very forward facing with messaging about don't put oil down your storm drain , don't put other chemicals you know , be aware of when you're using non-organic lawn care , and then all of that stuff , it does end up in the water and that's the water we drink , that's the water that supports our entire ecosystems . So I think that messaging is very important to share and just keep reminding people to have that awareness . I think you know we're starting a new programming series here called your Piece of the Planet , so it's going to be all about how to get started composting at home , how to start a native garden at home , how to attract pollinators , how to do the rain barrel . We really do want to help people take that next step into action . So not just learning about the value of things , but then being confident and being armed with the knowledge and tools they need to move forward and take those steps at home .

Diane Bickett 28:33

Yeah , and I think listeners for EcoSpeak CLE are pretty good about being aware of all this stuff . But add to that , tell your friends and neighbors and family . You know , if we all can be a spokesperson for these things , we'll just kind of grow it a little more and help make people that may not think about their drains in their garage to think about their drains in their garage .

Jennifer Grieser 29:00

Well , and we're really fortunate in Northeast Ohio to have such a wealth of watershed organizations . Yeah , what's even better is that they work really well together . So a number of years ago actually about 10 years ago started the Central Lake Erie Basin Collaborative , and you can check it out online , centrallakeereorg , and it provides an interactive map . So if you don't know exactly what watershed you live in , you can go in and zoom in . So on the western side of the Central Lake Erie Basin is the Huron River and then everything in the middle all the way to our border in Pennsylvania , to the east , with Caniot Creek , and then , great thing is , you can click on your watershed and then it will link you up if there is a group that is helping to manage that , like West Creek Conservancy or Friends of Euclid Creek , and then you can get connected that way . Yeah , awesome .

Diane Bickett 30:03

And what are some of the other ones that come to mind ? Tinkers Creek , Friends of Tinkers Creek .

Jennifer Grieser 30:07

Tinkers Creek Watershed Partners . Dome Brook Watershed Partners , shagrin River Watershed Partners , rocky River Watershed Council . Yeah , I mean , go us , that is awesome For sure . That was a big difference for me , coming from upstate New York and the cat skills , is that you didn't have that collaborative work , that organization . You had a lot of people that loved the landscape , but kind of on their own , and so I've just really enjoyed the collaborative nature of the folks here in Northeast Ohio .

Diane Bickett 30:40

Yeah , so definitely a way to get involved . What are some of these watershed groups working on ?

Jennifer Grieser 30:47

They definitely do stream cleanups , A lot of restoration projects . We actually just had a collaborative meeting earlier this week really thinking about how to position the watershed groups as well as Cleveland Metro Parks together for some of the bipartisan infrastructure law funding . We've never seen this level of significant funding in addition to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative , so how can we strategically position ourselves to successfully receive those implementation dollars ? We all partner with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District on their regional stormwater program . So , whether it's installing additional rain gardens on public properties and trying to help homeowners with their streambank erosion and flooding concerns , so it's really all-encompassing and it's really exciting that's great .

Diane Bickett 31:46

So you both just must love what you do and the organization that you work for . I always like to ask if any advice for someone wanting to work or volunteer with Cleveland Metro Parks Good way to get in the door .

Bethany Majeski 32:05

There are so many ways to get in the door . I mean , I think our organization , cleveland Metro Parks , is an impressive organization and has such breadth of career opportunities . So everything from restaurants to aquatics to you know natural resources work , to education , to golf . There are so many avenues and channels , even in our admin department . You know our finance people , hr . There's a whole team of people working to keep this great , great place humming and thriving and as progressive and lean as it is . It's really impressive when you see how we operate . Yeah .

Jennifer Grieser 32:48

I love it and I think it's interesting to look at people's different career journeys with us . It's really a balance of seeing those internal promotions see people go from a seasonal job , maybe as a lifeguard , to now director of real estate or a part-time job with police and now they're a park manager . So you see people incrementally step through in their professional career . But we also have a good balance of external candidates that are bringing that outside perspective and I think that's what makes us really effective at the work that we do . As far as advice I mean , I always tell people to volunteer because you get to know not just the people doing the work but what you really enjoy doing , and we have such a breadth of volunteer positions that really echo the paid positions on the staff .

Jennifer Grieser 33:53

So you could do almost anything .

Diane Bickett 33:57

Well , we're so fortunate to have the Cleveland Metro Parks and Emerald Necklace . It's really just such a key defining feature of our community . And thank you for being our first Cleveland Metro Parks interview . My daughter has been after me . She's like you got to get the Metro Parks . I don't know , but it's so big . Where do we start ? So we started with the Watershed Stewardship Center in Stormwater . We will branch out .

Jennifer Grieser 34:24

Yeah , thanks so much for your interest . It's exciting . Thank you so much for all you're doing .

Bethany Majeski 34:28

Thank you . I'd like to mention too , we do have our seasonal job fair coming up on March 9th . So just to your point about how to get involved that's a great place to come and talk to people in all the different departments and learn more about the introductory roles we have . Is that parkwide ?

Jennifer Grieser 34:45

or Okay , yep , parkwide Good and we're going to go to Lincoln our show notes . That's a good mention . Also , I'm surprised you didn't mention World Water Day . That's . One way people can get involved is just by attending these fun events .

Bethany Majeski 34:58

Yes , we do . We have a number of special events and World Water Day is coming up . It's in recognition of the UN's World Water Day , you know , global effort to recognize the importance of water resources . So yeah , march 23rd we're going to share all kinds of water , fun to do , games and activities , and fish touch tanks , and it should be really great .

Jennifer Grieser 35:21

I'm excited for the public art activity I know .

Bethany Majeski 35:25

That's really exciting . Yeah , do you hear that Teaser ? I know Teaser , yeah , fun .

Greg Rotuno 35:31

We hope you've enjoyed this episode of EcoSpeak's CLE . You can find our full catalog of episodes on Spotify , apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts . New episodes are available the first and third Tuesday of each month . Please follow EcoSpeak's CLE on Facebook and Instagram and become part of the conversation . If you would like to send us feedback and suggestions , or if you'd like to become a sponsor of EcoSpeak's CLE , you can email us at hello at ecospeaksclecom . Stay tuned for more important and inspiring stories to come .