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rdifalco

Bidwell Park and Chico Creeks Cleanup coming Saturday - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...creeks-cleanup-coming-saturday

BEC chico

shared by rdifalco on 19 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • The Butte Environmental Council and the city of Chico are partnering once again for the annual Bidwell Park and Chico Creeks Cleanup from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Last year, more than 350 volunteers helped collect several tons of garbage and recyclables from the park and creeks. Since 1995, BEC volunteers have pulled seven tons of recyclables, 14 tons of scrap metal and 77 tons of garbage from the parks and creeks. Volunteers are encouraged to wear long pants and sturdy closed-toe shoes. Bring gloves and a water bottle, and meet at the Hooker Oak Recreation Area parking lot for the park cleanup and at Park Avenue and 11th Street for the creeks cleanup. BEC will provide water and treat all volunteers to a free barbecue and raffle prizes afterward. For more information, contact Maggi Barry at maggib@becnet.org or call 891-6424.
rdifalco

More trees in Chico's Bidwell Park thanks to BEC acorn project - 0 views

www.orovillemr.com/...rk-thanks-to-bec-acorn-project

BEC Chico

shared by rdifalco on 29 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • Chico >> Fifty years from now there should be more shade at the parking lot at Horseshoe Lake.Volunteers had their hands covered with mud Saturday while planting blue oak acorns.Normally this might be a job for squirrels. However, new seedlings have a tough time at Horseshoe Lake with people and dogs are running and walking over the area year-round.Saturday, a group organized by the Butte Environmental Council did all that they could to give the new acorns a great chance at survival.
  • Danielle Baxter, project coordinator for the Oak Restoration Project.
  • Saturday was the fourth planting day this year, with a total of 120 holes dug and filled.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • To increase the chances of these acorns living a long, long life, volunteers will revisit the area many times to add water. They bring in a big water container and literally set up a bucket brigade.Baxter explained that a $30,000 grant from the California Wildlife Foundation is funding the project for three years. The goal is to plant new trees, of course, but also to involve the public in the process.
  • The locations included the North Rim Trail parking lot, Bidwell Park Golf Course, Chico Rod and Gun Club, Five-Mile Recreation Area and the Equestrian Association horse arena. Valley oaks were planted at the Five-Mile and the horse arena, Baxter said. The city of Chico’s park manager helped as a consultant.
rdifalco

PG&E proposes removal of 33 trees in Chico - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...s-removal-of-33-trees-in-chico

BEC trees chico removal PG&E

shared by rdifalco on 02 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • Chico >> PG&E intends to remove 33 trees, all on private property, as a safety measure in south Chico, but questioning by the public and the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission shed light on the process and reasoning. At a Monday forum held at the Park Commission’s meeting, PG&E representatives explained why the removals were necessary
  • PG&E shared a list of about 86 trees that were near the pipeline, but after a tree-by-tree inspection including city staff, nearby residents and representatives of Butte Environmental Council, acknowledged that all but 33 trees could stay but be watched.
  • Robyn DiFalco of BEC asked the Park Commission to “... make sure that every tree removed is justified and asked for another meeting on PG&E’s replacement plan. Commissioners wanted to know about incidences of pipe leaks in Chico, but Wilson and other PG&E representatives there Monday did not have that information. They also wanted to know more about what the access actually meant, and could there be negotiations on the list of trees to be removed.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Attorney Richard Harriman of Chico said everything should be written into an agreement, and Emily Alma asked the Park Commission to advocate for the trees.
rdifalco

Earth Day festivities scheduled for Sunday at Wildwood Park - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...eduled-sunday-at-wildwood-park

BEC chico Earth Day

shared by rdifalco on 22 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • CHICO — Kite flying, Frisbee throwing, face painting and live music will be a part of Earth Day festivities Sunday at Wildwood Park, put on by Butte Environmental Council. The free event for families will go 3-7 p.m. with music starting at 5 p.m. with Lisa Valentine, followed by The Railflowers. Picnic areas and barbecues will be available, and food trucks will be onsite for those who wish to purchase a meal. This year's celebration has been moved from its traditional location in lower Bidwell Park, to Wildwood Park at the entrance to upper park, a place that offers a wide view of Bidwell Ranch property, land that BEC took part in protecting from development decades ago. Tours of the adjacent property will begin at 3 p.m. at the east end of Wildwood Park, guided by biologist John Aull and Park Commissioner Mark Herrera.
rdifalco

On the chopping block - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC Chico trees Community PG&E

shared by rdifalco on 27 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • rdifalco on 27 Oct 15
     
    PG&E meets the public, offers to replace trees slated for removal along pipeline Last February, tree advocates' attempts to save several century-old sycamores from PG&E chainsaws ended in a tense, days-long standoff, police intervention and the eventual removal of the stately giants from where they stood outside of the Oroville Cemetery. It also caused a public relations nightmare for PG&E and its Pipeline Pathways project, the energy company's effort to remove trees, vegetation and structures along 6,750 miles of natural gas pipelines throughout the state for safety, maintenance and access purposes. With similar work planned to remove 33 trees from a mile-long swath in south Chico near Comanche Creek, PG&E is hoping to avoid troubles like those in Oroville, and sent a representative to the city's Bidwell Park and Playground Commission meeting on Monday (Aug. 31) to hear public comment and make an offer to mitigate the loss of the trees. BEC Executive Director Robyn DiFalco was the first person to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. She lauded the power company for reaching out and offering to plant replacements, but also urged caution as the city moves forward.
becnews

Chico News & Review - Creekside crackdown - News - Local Stories - September 10, 2015 - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC Chico Butte County Community Chico Creeks Cleanup

shared by becnews on 29 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • Cynthia Gailey identifies herself first and foremost as an environmentalist, and she’s fully aware that homeless encampments have contributed heavily to the trashing of Chico’s waterways. The degradation, she says, is appalling.
  • Still, it’s not as if the camps’ inhabitants have access to household comforts such as toilets, showers, laundry machines or garbage pick-up, Gailey says. As the coordinator for Safe Space, the seasonal, cold-weather homeless shelter hosted at rotating locations, she argues that the solution is providing unsheltered people with adequate facilities and services, not creating new laws that only “further criminalize homelessness.”
  • The environmental impacts are serious. Last year, Butte Environmental Council’s annual Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup—which aims to remove litter from the waterways before rain washes it downstream—pulled an estimated 30 tons of garbage from the creeks. It was a record amount of trash, far surpassing the previous high of 23,000 pounds in 2002. (BEC has tracked the trash haul since 1987.)
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • This year is shaping up about the same, based on accounts of volunteers who have worked in the waterways ahead of the cleanup, which is taking place on Saturday (Sept. 19), said BEC Executive Director Robyn DiFalco. “We’re hearing the conditions are really similar to last year,” she said. “We’re expecting to collect just as much material so long as the same number of volunteers come out again.” The volunteers pick up plenty of “typical everyday litter,” DiFalco said, but the vast majority of trash, by both weight and volume, comes from homeless encampments. However, she doesn’t want people blaming homeless people alone for the waste in the waterways. “This is all part of the bigger situation in our community and society,” she said. “Our role at BEC is to facilitate the community having a positive impact and getting out there for the cleanup.”
becnews

Chico News & Review - On top of trash - Downstroke - Local Stories - September 24, 2015 - 1 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC Chico Butte County Bidwell Chico Creeks Cleanup volunteers trash

shared by becnews on 29 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • About 500 volunteers—a record number—helped pull trash out of waterways during Butte Environmental Council's annual Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup on Saturday (Sept. 19). The volunteers collected an estimated 21,547 pounds of trash and recycling, said BEC Executive Director Robyn DiFalco. That figure is down from last year's record total of about 30 tons of material, but DiFalco said that's likely because “the community has been chipping away at this leading up to the big event” with smaller cleanups. “We also didn't get everything that's out there,” she added. “We never do.” BEC's cleanup also kicked off six weeks of smaller, neighborhood-based stewardship events called Block Parties With a Purpose. Go to becnet.org/events for updates.
rdifalco

Letter: Volunteers help clean up Chico's creeks - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...rs-help-clean-up-chicos-creeks

BEC Chico Community creeks cleanup Lindo Channel

shared by rdifalco on 27 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • The 25th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Even though Chico doesn’t have any “coasts” per se, we do have a number of waterways traversing our city (albeit several of them are currently bone dry due to the severe California drought).Chico’s contribution to the Coastal Cleanup effort is the annual Butte Environmental Council Chico Bidwell Park and Chico Creeks Cleanup. During last year’s event, we pulled 20 to 30 tons of trash and debris from Chico waterways.
  • We thank a large number of local community-minded Chico businesses and organizations for their help in co-sponsoring this event. (See becnet.org for the names of these awesome co-sponsors.)— Mark Gailey, Chico
rdifalco

Children, nature collide at Endangered Species Faire at Bidwell Park - Chico Enterprise... - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...at-endangered-species-faire-at

BEC chico endangered species

shared by rdifalco on 08 May 13 - No Cached
  • CHICO — Nestled inside lower Bidwell Park is where the wild things were during the 34th annual Endangered Species Faire Saturday. Some children, adults, and furry and scaly creatures were in attendance at the fair that ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Cedar Grove. Butte Environmental Council's event, which began in 1979, is the longest running environmental fair in northern California, said Robyn DiFalco, BEC executive director. The fair is meant to give schools, government and environmental organizations, and community groups a forum to present information on ecology wildlife and environmental issues, according to the BEC. It also allows those who attend to appreciate and broaden their knowledge of nature.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Constant cleanup - Feature Story - Local Stories - April 17, 2014 - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC chico cleanup water parks creeks

shared by rdifalco on 17 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • The byproducts of homeless encampments—mattresses, tents, sleeping bags, food packaging, empty bottles, clothing and human waste—are increasingly common along Chico’s creeks, and the mess is more than unsightly. Many items at these makeshift homes have the potential to pollute the local waterways and habitats downstream.
  • Members of volunteer cleanup crews, park officials and environmental advocates agree that the problem is worse than ever. They also acknowledge that, in light of the city’s ongoing financial difficulties, the ability to clean up the camps in a timely manner has diminished significantly.
  • Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, said that in the months leading up to the Bidwell Park and Chico Creeks Cleanup last September, there was a dramatic increase in homeless encampments throughout Chico, and despite a lower than expected volunteer turnout, the cleanup removed about twice as much trash from the creeks as the year before.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • “Things reached a level that no one could remember,” she said. “It was worse than it had ever been. We saw so many more mattresses, so many more tires, so many of those big, bulky items.”
  • Mark Gailey, a Chicoan who has volunteered for BEC’s cleanup efforts for nearly 25 years, said in an email that the amount of trash in Chico’s waterways “has seemed to grow exponentially—especially in the last few years. The vast majority of this trash … appears to be from abandoned homeless and transient encampments.”
  • Volunteers also described certain areas with such high concentrations of fecal matter and urine that “they required a hazmat cleanup,” DiFalco said. “When humans use our waterways as a bathroom, it has an impact on water quality; it has an effect on aquatic wildlife as well as terrestrial and amphibian wildlife.”
  • Since last fall’s cleanup, DiFalco said, she has been encouraged by ongoing discussions between city and county organizations about how to stay on top of the issue. Some locals, including a group of neighbors along Lindo Channel, have organized cleanup efforts of their own, while student volunteers from Chico State and Butte College have also proved helpful.
  • “You’re never going to solve it, but you do need to keep responding to it so it doesn’t get out of control,” she said. “The city shouldn’t be expected to do it on their own, nor should volunteers or nonprofits.”
  • rdifalco on 17 Apr 14
     
    The community's efforts to keep waterways unpolluted is more important than ever
dnbaxter

Taking Out the Trash at Bidwell Park - 2 views

theorion.com/...-out-the-trash-at-bidwell-park

BEC Chico Butte County Creek Clean-up Environmentalism Community Sustainable Future

shared by dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19
     
    With Chico population now over 100,000, that would make 500 volunteers half a percent of the population. Though the numbers were as strong as they have been in the event's history, BEC wants to do better in the years to come. "In future years I'd like to explore the possibility of expanding it to Saturday and Sunday and potentially reaching 1,000 people," said Danielle Baxter, General Manager for BEC.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Hands-on environmentalism - Scene - Arts&Culture - April 17, 2014 - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC chico endangered species

shared by rdifalco on 24 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • Endangered Species Faire to return to its original (shadier) location in Lower Bidwell Park
  • For the 35th anniversary of its Endangered Species Faire, the Butte Environmental Council is returning to where it all began. The May 3 event will take place in the One-Mile Recreation Area in Lower Bidwell Park—site of the inaugural festival in 1979. Specifically, the booths and stage will be at the group picnic area next to the playground, across from Sycamore Field.
  • BEC, which has held the fair at Cedar Grove for decades, decided to move back to its first location for better accessibility as well as more shade.
dnbaxter

Are more restrooms needed for homeless in park? | Pro vs. Con - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...or-homeless-in-park-pro-vs-con

Community Chico BEC Bidwell Park

shared by dnbaxter on 09 Dec 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 09 Dec 19
     
    Does Chico need more restrooms for homeless people, especially in Bidwell Park? Chico's Scott Grist, BEC Vice chair, takes the "pro" position while Jeff Glatz takes the "con."
rdifalco

Council upholds permit to remove 25 trees in Chico neighborhood - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...25-trees-in-Chico-neighborhood

BEC chico trees

shared by rdifalco on 05 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • CHICO >> Twenty-five trees are scheduled for removal, after the Chico City Council upheld a decision by the Bidwell Park & Playground Commission on Tuesday. Councilors voted 5-2 with Tami Ritter and Scott Gruendl dissenting to uphold the granting of a permit to remove 25 Yarwood sycamore trees and replace them with varieties that are better suited for the area. The Butte Environmental Council had appealed the permit approval, which stemmed from a request by the Mission Santa Fe Community of Homeowners and its 47 encompassing households.
  • Butte Environmental Council appealed on the basis that the project has undergone "inadequate environmental review because the cumulative effects on the urban forest have not been discussed." "If we compartmentalize tree discussions without first addressing overall impacts we are doing the community and the urban forest a disservice," Commissioner Mark Herrera told the council Tuesday.
dnbaxter

Bottles, Syringes, and Mattresses Found During Annual Creek Cleanup - 0 views

krcrtv.com/...nd-during-annual-creek-cleanup

BEC Chico Butte County Community Creek Clean-up Volunteers Environmentalism

shared by dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19
     
    The 32nd annual Bidwell Park and Chico Creek cleanup attracted close to 500 volunteers with tons of trash, literally, removed from Bidwell Park and local creeks, according to BEC.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Editors' picks 2014 - Feature Story - Local Stories - October 16,... - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC chico water Bidwell Park creeks trash recycling volunteers

shared by rdifalco on 23 Oct 14 - No Cached
  • Best cleansing of the creeks BEC’s Big Chico Creek Cleanup The sheer amount of garbage pulled out of Chico’s waterways during the cleanup on Sept. 20 was mind-boggling (nearly 20 tons!), and we’re thankful an organization like the Butte Environmental Council was around to organize it. We’re also thankful that so many community members (nearly 450!) volunteered to help the cause. The effort has never been more important, because our creeks were more littered with trash than ever before. (This year’s haul almost doubled the previous record.) And trash littering the banks of our creeks is more than gross and unattractive; our refuse floats downstream, harming aquatic habitats in the Sacramento River and eventually the Pacific Ocean. So, cheers to BEC and the volunteers who diverted that stuff to the landfill. The community and its waterways are much better for it.
dnbaxter

Chico and Oroville Volunteers do their Part in Helping Clean California - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...rt-in-helping-clean-california

BEC Butte County Chico Community Volunteers Waste Reduction Environmentalism

shared by dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19
     
    Chico and Oroville volunteers were part of the 60,000 people throughout California that spent Saturday morning picking up trash. Oroville focused on beautifying areas along the Feather River, while Chico cleaned up Bidwell Park and local creeks.
rdifalco

Park Commission looks at Caper Acres, trees - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...ion-looks-at-caper-acres-trees

BEC chico park Bidwell Park trees

shared by rdifalco on 26 Aug 14 - No Cached
  • In addition, the Butte Environmental Council is asking for permission for an oak planting project in upper park. The four-year plan calls for the planting of oaks, the engagement of community and protection for previously planned oak trees. BEC has acquired the funding to make the project possible.
rdifalco

What's happening today in the north valley - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...s-happening-today-north-valley

BEC chico endangered species

shared by rdifalco on 08 May 13 - No Cached
  • shows, music, local food vendors, demonstrations, more. Walking, biking or bus transportation to the event encouraged. Hosted by Butte Environmental Council. 891-6424.
  • rdifalco on 08 May 13
     
    34th annual Endangered Species Faire: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Cedar Grove, lower Bidwell Park. "Procession of the Species" parade at noon, with handmade puppets (mostly animal puppets) up to 15 feet tall. Live animal
rdifalco

Fewer floaters equals less trash from Sacramento River revelry - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...ss-trash-from-sacramento-river

BEC water sacramento river trash recycling

shared by rdifalco on 19 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • With an alcohol ban on both the water and adjacent shores, thousands fewer people floated on a popular stretch of the Sacramento River and the resulting trash that accumulates for miles also dramatically declined.
  • "It was a night-and-day difference on the river, from tubes to full beers floating down to empty cans," said Lucas Merz, program manager for the Sacramento River Preservation Trust. "Just the overall respect for the river was really nice to see."
  • Maggi Barry, office coordinator with Butte Environmental Council, voiced appreciation to the Glenn and Butte county boards of supervisors for the ban. She said their proactive approach makes the river a better environment in several ways. "We would like to say 'Yay! Thank you for the double-duty of addressing young lives and helping clean up the environment,'" she said.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • BEC will host the annual Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup on Sept. 21 to prevent trash from entering the Sacramento River and its tributaries.
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