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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
becwatershed

'Block Parties with a Purpose' target Chico waterways - 0 views

www.krcrtv.com/...37237210

BEC chico water Community Butte County

shared by becwatershed on 04 Jan 16 - No Cached
  • CHICO, Calif. - Volunteers in Chico started the new year by cleaning up Chico waterways. January 2 was the first "Block Party with a Purpose" in 2016.
  • The Butte Environmental Council last held a "party" in 2014. But waterways around the city are littered with trash so volunteers are back at it.
  • "It is really a satisfying experience," Shelly Rogers, a volunteer, said. "We get an unbelievable amount of trash."
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Saturday focused on Big Chico Creek but the volunteers will cover Little Chico Creek and the Lindo Channel throughout the year.
  • becwatershed on 04 Feb 16
     
    CHICO, Calif. - Volunteers in Chico started the new year by cleaning up Chico waterways. January 2 was the first "Block Party with a Purpose" in 2016. The Butte Environmental Council last held a "party" in 2014. But waterways around the city are littered with trash so volunteers are back at it.
ndcarter

Community Corner: Volunteers needed for Chico parks, greenways - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...eded-for-chico-parks-greenways

shared by ndcarter on 21 Mar 17 - No Cached
  • The city of Chico Parks Division is hosting an orientation meeting March 30 for people who are interested in becoming parks volunteers.The meeting will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 421 Main St.
  • Frequently the Parks Division volunteers team up with what Romain calls “partner organizations” that have special interests in the city’s open spaces. Among them are Friends of Bidwell Park, Friends of Comanche Creek Greenway, Chico Velo-Trailworks, Stream Team, California Native Plant Society and Butte Environmental Council. “Our partnerships with these groups and our volunteers work together for the greater good, making our park and greenways more enjoyable for people,” said Romain.
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.
becwatershed

Volunteers take part in chilly, post-New Year's cleanup of Big Chico Creek - 2 views

www.chicoer.com/...ars-cleanup-of-big-chico-creek

BEC chico water Community Butte County cleanup

shared by becwatershed on 04 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • becwatershed on 04 Feb 16
     
    Chico >> Cold morning temperatures and the calendar failed to deter a handful of volunteers who pitched in for a creek cleanup Saturday. While the last month's first monthly "Block Party With a Purpose" drew about 40 people and collected 4,300 pounds of refuse from Lindo Channel, organizers anticipated fewer people for the event just two days into the new year.
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

'Block party' cleanup of Little Chico Creek set for Saturday morning - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...creek-set-for-saturday-morning

BEC chico water cleanup creek

shared by rdifalco on 06 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • A clean-up of Little Chico Creek from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday is being touted as a “block party with a purpose.”After gathering near the windchime sculpture at the park on Humboldt Avenue near Willow Street, volunteers and community members will remove garbage from the creek and park, according to an event flier. Invasive weeds will also be cleared.Volunteers are asked to wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and long-sleeve shirts and to bring gloves and a reusable water bottle, if available. Organizers will provide tools, waste bins and water. They will also provide lunch and lemonade to volunteers. The event is sponsored by the city of Chico, Butte Environmental Council, Waste Management and the Mount Lassen Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
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.
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.”
ndcarter

31st Annual Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup | Growing Up Chico Magazine - 0 views

growingupchico.com/well-park-chico-creeks-cleanup

shared by ndcarter on 24 Aug 18 - No Cached
  • Saturday morning, September 15th as the sun comes up, hundreds of community volunteers will gather in the parking lots of Hooker Oak Park and the Annie K Bidwell Parlor. Check-in stations and empty dumpsters will be waiting for volunteers to participate in the largest round up of trash and recyclables in Chico. In small groups, formed in advance or on the spot, volunteers will be supplied with trash bags, pickers, buckets, and coffee before they are sent out to clean every creek in Chico- in just over 3 hours! Hosted by Butte Environmental Council since 1988, this year will be the 31st annual Bidwell Park and Chico Creeks Cleanup.
ndcarter

Hundreds of volunteers participate in annual creek cleanup - Chico Enterprise-Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...cipate-in-annual-creek-cleanup

shared by ndcarter on 17 Sep 18 - No Cached
  • With buckets, gloves and trash pickers in hand, hundreds of volunteers set out to accomplish one task on Saturday
ndcarter

More volunteers needed for Chico PALS program - Chico Enterprise-Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...-needed-for-chico-pals-program

shared by ndcarter on 12 Mar 19 - No Cached
  • Other volunteer organizations like Friends of Comanche Creek, Friends of Bidwell Park, Chico Vello Trail Works, Butte Environmental Council, and other people who work with PALS will also be at the orientation to explain how people can get involved with their groups as well.
ndcarter

Chico News & Review - Compassion above all else - Editorial - Opinions - March 29, 2018 - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC water cleanup chico news Community

shared by ndcarter on 05 Apr 18 - No Cached
  • Butte Environmental Council, which for decades has organized events to beautify our parks and waterways. During a cleanup in 2008, as the CN&R reported, BEC volunteers collected a whopping 10.5 tons of trash in five hours.
  • ndcarter on 05 Apr 18
     
    Butte Environmental Council (BEC) is a community organization committed to protecting and defending environmental quality throughout Butte County. By regularly removing trash and recyclables that have found their way in to our urban creeks, parks and greenways BEC is helping to keep local water clean and safe, improving wildlife habitat and reducing human impacts on our environmental quality. Chico's urban waterways are heavily impacted by litter, illegal dumping, and creekside camping. BEC is committed to treating all members of our community with dignity and respect. We often remove materials left behind by those living along our creeks. Our non-confrontation policy asks our volunteers to avoid any interactions with those in the cleanup area besides inviting them to join us. In partnership with local law enforcement, we provide notice to camps in an effort to allow time for personal property to be removed. Usable items that are removed from our cleanup efforts are repurposed whenever possible to minimize what we send to the landfill. Our community cleanups have two goals: remove waste from our creeks, and build a community committed to healthy waterways.
ndcarter

Bike pedaling volunteers power daylong music festival - Chico Enterprise-Record - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...s-power-daylong-music-festival

shared by ndcarter on 11 Jun 18 - No Cached
  • Scott Grist, who manages the event, believes in sustainability and uses this event to bring awareness to conscious thinking about environmental needs. “We’re opening people up to the idea that we can use less fossil fuels and have a whole day live music festival powered by human effort,” Grist said. The event is ran by volunteers giving in various ways including audience members signing up and powering the sound and instruments by pedaling stationary bicycles.
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.
dnbaxter

Letter: Praise for events and volunteers - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...aise-for-events-and-volunteers

BEC Chico water Butte County Community

shared by dnbaxter on 26 Oct 20 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 26 Oct 20
     
    Letter to the editor thanks Butte Environmental Council's Annual Cleanup volunteers
ndcarter

http://www.chicoer.com/lifestyle/20161128/giving-tuesday-asks-people-to-donate-volunteer - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...sks-people-to-donate-volunteer

shared by ndcarter on 29 Nov 16 - No Cached
  • Katie Beeson, Butte Environmental Council business manager, said the nonprofit is creating a craft project with recycled materials at its office downtown all day in recognition of the movement.
  • “As Giving Tuesday becomes more popular,” said Beeson, “we’re hoping that Chico can really become a place on the map for local giving back.”
rdifalco

CN&R Letters: Hurray for tree-planting - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC trees chico

shared by rdifalco on 01 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • Chico Tree Advocates were on the job last Arbor Day, April 25. Thanks to more than 10 sponsors and our five volunteers, we received a great seminar about tree planting from Dave Bettencourt, city street tree supervisor. Thanks also to the Butte Environmental Council for their encouragement and help as our fiscal agency and providing the bright orange vests for our volunteers. Thanks also to Grub and Rental Guys. Our goal was to plant 10 trees. I bought eight, but when the day came, we had just five sites OK’d for planting. So we planted five trees and we’re still looking for homes for the other three. Since this was our first foray planting city street trees, and because the sky was threatening, I was OK with a short day. As it turned out, minutes after we finished, there was a downpour. Discussing the day, we agreed that you feel something wonderful, powerful, almost spiritual, about planting trees. It felt good. We look forward to getting these last three planted and for an even larger tree planting event in the fall.
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
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