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Toxic education Environmental group shines light on Oroville By Tom Gascoyne tomg@newsreview.com This article was published on 11.21.13.

The Butte Environmental Council has launched an educational campaign in Oroville to help alert citizens to the dioxin contamination that has plagued the southern part of town for decades. Billboards demanding action and a series of public forums have been funded by grants from Ventura-based outdoor-clothing company Patagonia Inc. and the Clif Bar Family Foundation. Mark Stemen, president of BEC’s board of directors, said Clif Bar and Patagonia both have campaigns aimed at helping low-income communities deal with the toxic problems they may face. “They were very inspired by the issues and the work we’ve been doing in south Oroville,” Stemen said.

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.

Nani Teves, Butte Environmental Council’s water-outreach coordinator, sent me a press release announcing “phase two of the Code Blue water engagement campaign.” As some readers may recall, BEC’s 2013 Code Blue water-outreach campaign kicked off on Feb. 5 with a free educational forum at Chico State called “Ethical Issues and Water: An Interfaith Dialogue”; the ongoing series of no-cost, water-centric events will run throughout the year. Phase two—the “action” phase, which will begin Sept. 19—will include gray-water and rainwater-catchment installation workshops, and “actions related to statewide strategies to solving some of the more controversial and political water issues.” Thus, next Thursday (Sept. 19), a free action workshop related to the proposed Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta twin-tunnels project will be held at the Blue Oak Charter School community room (450 W. East Ave.), from 6-7 p.m.