January 2025

This Month's Issue:

BEC's Year in Review

New Year Social Hour with BEC

Drop in The Bucket

Community Resource Guide

Recycling and Rubbish Education

Water Issues in Butte County

Call for BEC Board of Directors

BEC's Year in Review

2024 was a year filled with much success for Butte Environmental Council.

• Partner with over 75 community based organizations, local businesses, and local and state government entities.
• Recruit and engaged over 850 volunteers in climate action and land stewardship opportunities totaling over 2,500 hours valued at $83,265.
• Host and be present at 15 different community events.
• Divert over 10,800 lbs. of food waste through our Drop in the Bucket Program.
• Educate over 2,500 students in Butte County.
• Remove over 14,200 lbs. of harmful waste from local waterways.
• Trained 8 individuals in through the California Climate Action Corps Fellowship in workforce development for climate action and environmental action.

We are looking forward to coalition building with you in the new year, and have some exciting news to share with you in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! Or better yet, come hang at Ramble West on the 15th.

Come Chill with BEC

Join BEC staff and Board Members for a night at Ramble West Brewery, 849 W 8th St, from 6-7pm over some drinks and food. This is a no host event, but we hope that members of the community will come a socialize with us!

Drop in the Bucket

The BEC Drop in the Bucket (DitB) Composting program has grown substantially in the last couple years, thanks to community members wanting to make their households and habits more sustainable!

In September of 2023, DitB served 21 houses, diverting around 600 lbs. of food waste a month. Just over a year later, in December of 2024, our program now serves over 60 houses, diverting over 1100 lbs. of food waste/month. This could not be done with out with the help of BEC staff and our INCREDIBLE, reliable volunteers.

Food waste is picked up and dropped off weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Once food waste arrives on site, the real work begins - building and maintaining our thermophilic compost piles. These piles are built and turned weekly to ensure ideal temperatures all throughout, taking around 3 months to reach “maturity.” It is a labor intensive process, but rewarding because of the end product, nutrient rich soil, outshines the work when you see the produce grow and life thrive at the Oakway Community Garden. 

Do you want to be a part of the change? Come volunteer! Pick up food waste while listening to your favorite podcast or help turn compost to get the full hands-on experience of how organic “waste,” soil, and food come together to nourish our bodies.

Email sustainability@becnet.org if you’re interested! We do food scrap pick-ups on Monday and turn piles/incorporate scraps Tuesday or Wednesday. 

At this moment, we’ve had to stall our DitB new sign-ups due to limited capacity, but with a couple more hands to help, we can continue to grow and serve Butte County's efforts towards “75% Organic Waste Diverted by 2025” per SB-1383.

Community Resource Guide

The California Community Resource Guide provides an easy-to-navigate online directory to search for State services, resources, and assistance. It is designed with the user in mind – to empower trusted messengers with information about how to access culturally relevant basic needs, and other state services as they engage with community members. Feedback is always welcome…let us know what needs to be added to improve this tool! 

Local Water Issues in Butte County

If you received a Tuscan Water District ballot in the mail, we encourage you to vote “NO: do not approve the special benefit assessment” by January 15th, 2025.

Why? There are several reasons that the Tuscan Water District (TWD) should not be funded by taxpayers. The first is that the Tuscan Water District gives control of our local resources to outside interests. The largest farm in the District is headquartered in Utah and is valued at $35+ million dollars. This matters because voting in the District is not based on the principle of “one person, one vote”, but rather, voting is based on the amount of acres you own. Why let a rich out of state corporation control what happens to our water?

The second reason to vote NO on this ballot is because the Tuscan Water District has become an unnecessary new taxing authority. Groundwater is already managed in Butte County by the Vina Groundwater Sustainability Agency and Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation. Property owners in the Tuscan Water District already pay a tax for the Vina GSA. A Tuscan Water District tax would be a double tax for the same water!

A third reason to vote NO is because the formation of the Tuscan Water District is undemocratic. The founders of the Tuscan Water District deliberately excluded Chico and Durham voters when they drew the district boundaries, even though these areas share the same water because they pull from the same aquifer. Residents of these cities will feel the consequences of groundwater depletion. Because voting power is based on the number of acres one owns, the vast majority of residents and small growers have very little influence in anything the District does with our groundwater. 

What will the TWD funding be used for? They have said it will be used to cover administrative costs and costs related to litigation. Don’t let them take your hard-earned money!

The Tuscan Water District is a power grab. Don’t let outside interests tax you twice for the same water. Vote “NO: do not approve the special benefit assessment” by January 15th.

Recycling and Rubbish Education

Reuse Rainwater Catchment System:

California’s Mediterranean climate means dry summers and wet winters. Get the  most out of the wet winters by making a rainwater catchment system using 55 gal. barrels! It’s easy to do and makes the most out of nature’s resources. See the instructions here.

Rainwater capture is legal in California. The Rainwater Capture Act of 2012 allows Californians to capture runoff from roof tops and you do not require a water right permit to do so. For the bill in full click here. 

Once you’ve made your rainwater catchment system, take a photo of the finished product and post it on your Instagram with the hashtags #butteenvironmentalcouncil #SaveOurWater.

Call for New BEC Board Members

Make a difference on local and regional environmental issues that impact the health of the land, air, and water in Butte County by becoming a Butte Environmental Council Board Member — apply today!

The BEC Board of Directors is a diverse group of proactive individuals that determine policies, procedures, and regulations for the conduct of the organization, helps in raising funds to finance BEC and its programs, promotes BEC in the community, and monitors its organizational performance. Duties include attendance of monthly board meetings each fiscal year, participation in at least one committee, and volunteering at BEC events. Terms are three years running with the fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) with a maximum of three consecutive terms (9 years). 

If accepted, you will be appointed to the Board, and then voted on by the BEC membership in the annual election. Board elections take place every June, and any current BEC member is eligible to vote.

Butte Environmental Council recognizes the original occupants of what is now referred to as the Butte County area and the descendants who are still living here. They include:

Tyme Maidu Tribe-Berry Creek Reservation

Enterprise Rancheria

Mechoopda Indian Tribe

Mooretown Rancheria 

We acknowledge and are mindful that these first people have a special and sacred relationship with their ancestral lands and the waters that run through these lands, sustaining them for centuries. We strive to learn from their ways and to be considered by the tribes as allies to respect and steward resources in this life-giving place.

Support Butte Environmental Council!

BEC is a grassroots non-profit dedicated to protecting the health of our environment. Our work is made possible by people like you! Your contribution helps us plant trees, clean the creeks, and bring environmental education into the classroom.

Consider becoming a Sustaining Member today for as little as $5/month.