July 2025

This Month's Issue:

Calling All Water Stewards...

Local-level Environmental Stewardship is Crucial

Beer Lobo & BEC Partner up

It's a Wrap! RARE's Impact for 2025

DitB is at Risk!

BEC Fellows StoryMaps of 2024-2025

Tips for Visiting Butte Creeks, Rivers & Public Pools

Calling All Water Stewards...

In conjunction with California Coastal Cleanup Day each year, BEC hosts the Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup as an effort to remove trash, recyclables and other harmful pollutants from our waterways and riparian habitats. The goal of this large-scale, community-driven cleanup is to prevent materials from being washed downstream into the Pacific Ocean before the winter rains. Removing toxins from the upper watersheds, such as the Big Chico Creek and Little Chico Creek, helps enhance the water quality for the flora, fauna, and water invertebrates throughout the entire North State that depend on healthy water for survival. Not only does having clean water benefit the ecosystem and all that depend on it in the wild, clean water benefits us as recreationists and consumers. 

Volunteers are the ones who make the Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup happen. Volunteers are the people power that enable us to continue to host this impactful event each year. Volunteers are the ones who help spread awareness of the importance of this event by recruiting their friends and family to dedicate their valuable time on a weekend to clean our waterways collectively. With the support of volunteers over the past 37 years of this event, we have removed over 300 tons of materials from riparian corridors - preventing pollutants from making their way to the Pacific Ocean. Without being removed, toxic materials such as tires and mattresses would be polluting our waterways with forever chemicals. Come join the fun, all are welcome.

Where: Meet at Hooker Oak Park

When: September 20, 2025 9am-12pm

BECome a cleanup volunteer and help us spread the word - you’ll even get a free, one-of-a-kind event T-shirt that is specially curated each year by local artist Hannah Moore.

Local-level Environmental Stewardship is Crucial

Climate Disaster is an Imminent Threat

Recently, BEC participated in a final interview for our grant through the California Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications (OCPSC). This grant had an immeasurable impact on our organization, as it provided us with outreach materials for a range of environmental topics, including campaigns for Extreme Heat, Save Our Water, Climate Action Counts, and even kids’ materials exploring native flora and fauna. The most impactful question was, “What would you say to someone who told you that this grant was a waste of taxpayer money?” Our response was, “If someone told me this grant was a waste of taxpayer money, I would tell them that climate change is the most urgent and existential threat facing humanity.” 

At BEC, we do critical climate change mitigation and adaptation work as the world rapidly approaches the looming threshold of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Drop in the Bucket, our community composting initiative, reduces the amount of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from entering the atmosphere at the landfill by turning food scraps into compost at our community garden. We educate youth in our community about recycling and composting, planting trees, and native fish species, inspiring the next generation to connect with the natural world. And with the help of OCPSC, we help our community mitigate and adapt to climate change by providing action steps they can take to address climate change as an individual, as well as informing them about the signs of heat illness during extreme heat events and ways to conserve water during conditions of drought.

This local-level environmental stewardship is crucial in an era of climate denial. By supporting BEC’s work, you can help us make a difference not only in our local community, but create waves of change for our state, our nation, and the world.

— Emily McCabe

Beer Lobo & BEC Partner Up

Your moment to support BEC and eat some yummy food!

For the month of July, Beer Lobo will be supporting BEC by donating 20% of their food sales. BEC is your local environmental non-profit and in need of the local community to join in on supporting our efforts, while enjoying some delicious local food!

Head over to Beer Lobo at 800 Broadway St, Chico, CA 95928.

It's a Wrap! RARE's Impact for 2025

The Rubbish and Recycling Education Program (RARE) has completed another successful school year, offering educational workshops for over 10 years in Butte County schools.

Are you an educator? We’ll come to you. All supplies provided.

DitB is at Risk!

Drop in the Bucket (DitB) is BEC’s community composting program. The goal of the program is to turn food scraps into nutrient rich compost, a resource that is highly treasured at the Oak Way Community Garden and by program participants.

In the beginning stages of the program, pickups were done by a person riding a bike with a caddy attached. In order to reach a larger population and increase program participation, the program transitioned into a vehicle pickup service.

In an effort to be more sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint, we are encouraging participants to drop off their compost at a drop-off location near them, empowering people to actively participate in Chico’s sustainable food cycle. Participants can drop off their food scraps while they are out running an errand or on their way to work, taking only a short detour on a route they are already taking, instead of relying on someone else to pick up their food scraps for them.

We need your input!

We understand that transitions are difficult and that it might not work for everyone, so we strive to accommodate the needs of the community. Please help us shape the future of DitB by filling out this short 3-5 minute survey.

BEC Fellows StoryMap of 2024-2025

As part of the California Climate Action Corps Fellowship, our Fellows have created an ArcGIS StoryMap to highlight their experiences throughout the 2024-2025 term. Take a look at what they worked on down below!

Tips for Visiting Butte Creeks, Rivers & Public Pools

Heading to the creek, river, or lake this summer?

Stay safe while having fun!

Sycamore Pool is a part of Big Chico Creek. Natural water areas (like rivers, lakes, streams, and creeks) and other natural waterways are untreated water sources that may contain germs, bacteria, viruses, and parasites that cause waterborne illness or infection. When swimming in any natural waterway, always remember to avoid swallowing water, rinse off your body with fresh water after swimming, and wash your hands with soap and water before eating. Residents who suspect that they have been infected with a waterborne illness should contact their healthcare provider.

If you or someone you know becomes ill from swimming in the public waterways, call and report their illness to Butte County Public Health at 530-552-3929.

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.

BEC is a membership supported organization, we invite all interested parties to become a member today.

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