October 2025

This Month's Issue:

BEC's 50th Anniversary Gala Fundraiser THIS Month

Habit FUNdraiser Event for BEC

Chico State Make A Difference Day

Drop in the Bucket resumes October 7th

RARE for Classrooms

Bidwell Park and Chico Creeks Cleanup Recap Totals

Butte Creek Canyon Cleanup

Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Welcome to New 25/26 BEC Fellows

No Swim Advisory- Big Chico Creek

Purchase your tickets to BEC's 50th Anniversary Gala

Join us for a landmark evening as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary Gala Fundraiser on Thursday, October 23rd from 5–9 PM at the beautiful Lakeside Pavilion, 2565 California Park Drive, Chico, CA, 95928.

Elemental Elegance, is the inspiration the event attire, BEC invites you to don your most exquisite costume representing water, fire, earth, or air, reflecting the essence of your favorite element. Whether you attend with family, friends, or on your own, we welcome you to join us in celebrating this remarkable milestone.

Tickets include a fully catered dinner by OM Foods and 1 complementary drink ticket for a beverage of your choice. The event will reflect on past successes, milestones, and major accomplishments as well as a glimpse into the future.

We are in need of volunteers for our Gala

There are a variety of volunteer positions available, with time slots ranging from 3-10 pm. If you volunteer for a shift, you will be compensated a free dinner, fully catered by OM Foods.

Volunteer positions*:

• Help setup decorations 3 - 5pm
• Help setup the event 3 - 5pm
• Admissions 3 - 5pm
• Silent auction monitors 5 - 9pm
• Cleanup 6 - 9 pm
• Breakdown 9 - 10pm

*For a full list of volunteer position descriptions and to sign up, click the link below.

BEC FUNdraiser at Habit Bar and Grill

Help BEC celebrate 50 years of protecting the land, air and water of Butte County and the surrounding region, by supporting our fundraising campaign to raise funds to support our work for another 50 years.

On Wednesday, October 8th from 4 - 9pm, present this flier at checkout and 20% of sales will be donated to BEC.

When ordering food online, or at the in store kiosk you can enter code GIVEBACK at checkout, to donate 20% of your purchase to supporting Butte Environmental Council (BEC).

Our personal favorite on the menu is the Tempura Green Beans- so make sure you give them a try. The Habit Bar and Grill is the only restaurant in Chico that offers them!

Calling Chico State Students for

Make a Difference Day

with BEC at the Oak Way Garden

BEC's Project Location

Oak Way Community Garden (1500 W 8th Ave, Chico, CA 95926)

Date & Time

Saturday October 25th

10am-1pm (3 hours)

Main contact person for event details leading up to project

Valeria Cisneros, sustainability@becnet.org

Project Description

• Volunteers will be assisting the community garden through gardening and infrastructure maintenance- you will be building a structure with tools
• Our Oak Way Community Gardeners need your help in pulling grass, reinforcing the garden fencing, and creating a wire structure for the yard waste
• Your help will ensure that our local gardeners continue to be able to grow their own food in order to sustain themselves and their families

Minimum and maximum number of volunteers needed

15-20 Volunteers

Drop in the Bucket Pickups Resumes October 7th

Drop in the Bucket food scraps pickups will be resuming on Tuesday, October 7th and will be on Tuesdays moving forward due to staff scheduling conflicts that arise on Mondays.

Programming reminders and housekeeping includes:

• Please place your bucket outside, in a VISIBLE place, on Tuesday around 8am and expect a pickup by 9pm, unless stated otherwise. 

• We have multiple volunteers and their assigned routes change to fit their schedules. They all pickup at different times to fit their availability.

• Please wash out your buckets consistently and keep the lids closed snug to avoid maggot hatches.

• If your bucket isn't picked up for some odd reason, please just reach out! It doesn't happen often, but mistakes happen!  

• Please communicate any days you are unable to take out your buckets, so that I am able to update our map routes and adjust to your scheduling needs. We can save on gas emissions if we don't make any unnecessary stops.



IMPORTANT! Please reach out to Valeria (sustainability@becnet.org) with the FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

1. Will you resume pickups starting October 7th? If not, what Tuesday would you like to begin your pickups?
2. Will you want weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or sporadic pickups?

Please also include this following if it applies to you:

1. If you have had a change of address, please let me know and I will update our system.
2. Let me know if you prefer to drop off your compost at Oak Way Community Garden, I will be sending you the most updated information about composting drop-offs in Chico.

Thank you all for continuing to contribute in reaching our goals in food waste diversion, greenhouse gas sequestration, and the production of beautiful rich compost soil for our local Oak Way gardeners! We are also acception coffee ground donations...

RARE Classroom Workshops begin on October 21st

BEC will resume classroom workshops beginning on Tuesday, October 21st.

If you have a workshop scheduled and we have not reached out to you yet, please send an email to rare@becnet.org to confirm your booking.

This program is free for all Butte County schools, so take advantage of our 45 minute interactive, educational and fun workshops that are tailored to grade level and in the comfort of your own classroom.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at rare@becnet.org or by calling our office at 530.891.6424.

Bidwell Park and Chico Creeks Cleanup Impact Report

Happening TOMORROW!!

Butte Creek Canyon Cleanup

Save the Date for the Friends of Butte Creek's 19th Annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival October 11, 2025 at the Paradise Performing Arts Center.

Salmon holding conditions continue in good shape although the next heat wave is concerning.

Welcome to BEC's New 2025/2026 Cohort of California Climate Action Corps Fellows

The CDC has confirmed dangerous E.coli O157 in Big Chico Creek. A No-Swim Advisory Remains in effect. For more information, please read the Butte County Public Health Press Release at the link in our bio.

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.