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The On-line Calendar of North State Gardening Events at jewellgarden.com adds events throughout the month.

March 24 – Chico: Butte Environmental Council "Breaking Bread, Breaking Ground, A Gathering in Support of Community Gardens 4:30 - 7:30 pm. The Butte Environmental Council and Cultivating Community will be hosting Breaking Bread, Breaking Ground II: A gathering in support of community gardens. The meal is a local gourmet Mexican meal prepared by Donna Garrison, who coincidentally won the Humboldt Community Garden salsa completion last year. David Guzzetti will be providing a Flan Cake desert. There will also be a silent auction, and No-Host Bar. Musical performers include Los Caballitos de la Cancion, who will get us into fiesta mood! Tickets are $25 each and you can reserve a space by calling the BEC Office at 891-6424. Please make checks to BEC. Our address is 116 W 2nd St Ste 3, Chico, CA 95928. The event is Arc Pavilion 2020 Park Ave Doors open at 4:30, dinner at 5:00.

BEC board boss says thanks! On the heels of the Butte Environmental Council’s recent gala fundraiser and awards ceremony honoring local environmentalists Wes Dempsey, Dave Garcia, and Susan and Stephen Tchudi (see “BEC bestows honors,” Earthwatch, Oct. 24), BEC board chairman Mark Stemen wanted to extend his appreciation to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office for helping close down the dioxin-spewing Pacific Oroville Power Inc. (POPI) co-generation plant in south Oroville, and also to thank CN&R News Editor Tom Gascoyne for his coverage related to that controversial plant.

Don’t forget Anti-GMO activist Pamm Larry wanted me to remind folks of the Uniting Generations for Action community-building event on Nov. 2 at Trinity United Methodist Church (285 E. Fifth St.), from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (See “Let us unite,” Guest comment, Oct. 24). “This will be an unforgettable event and a prime opportunity to pair new activists with longstanding organizations and individuals,” said Larry in an email. Go to www.facebook.com/events/397543767021567 for a schedule of events.

Get ready to throw on your hiking boots, load up your family and head to the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve because Butte Environmental Council is teaming up with CSU Chico Ecological Reserves to host a spectacular event called Autumn Watersheds 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve off State Route 32.

Events will be led by CSU Geology alum Anna Nattress; Land Steward Ryan Edwards; Executive Director of Butte Environmental Council Natalie Carter; Director Emeritus of the CSUC Ecological Reserves Paul Maslin and Education Coordinator for the CSUC Ecological Reserves Jon Aull.

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.

CHICO — The next round of the Code Blue water series, hosted by the Butte Environmental Council, begins tonight with a one-hour "action" meeting about the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. The Code Blue series kicked off in February, and six events remain after its summer break. Several additional events are planned through November, including a rain barrel workshop and delta tour.

Better alternatives exist, DiFalco said, than the concept to use tunnels to transfer water from the Sacramento River to the Southern Central Valley. "Let's not let Gov. Brown's tunnels be the only things being considered," she said.

The Oct. 17 discussion will feature fracking, which is fracturing of rock to extract gas and oil. "We are gathering details about fracking in Butte County, and citizens are getting ready for a (statewide ballot provision) for 2014," DiFalco said. Sutter and Glenn counties have the largest amount of fracking activity in the area, primarily natural gas, she said.

CHICO — Music and nationally known speakers will kick off a west coast tour of California Community Rising Against Fracking during a free event Sunday at Arc Pavilion, 2040 Park Ave. Put on by Chico Community Rising Against Fracking and Butte Environmental Council, the event 2-6 p.m., is the start of a state tour that will end up in San Diego on Earth Day, according to Dave Garcia, a member of BEC. Tour locations are communities that are near the largest shale oil regions in the state, including San Francisco, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, he said.

Speakers will include: Doug Shields, former member of Pittsburgh, Penn., city council, featured in the film, "The Sky is Pink"; Shannon Biggs, director of Community Rights with Global Exchange, who will talk about community rights initiatives; Andrew Grinberg, Oil and Gas Program Coordinator of Clean Water Action, who will talk about water issues and new proposed state fracking regulations; Speakers from Chico Community Rising Against Fracking and BEC, on concerns of what local fracking for oil operations may cause to the surrounding agricultural economy. Also, there will be a showing of "The Sky is Pink," a film by Josh Fox as a follow-up to his Oscar-nominated "Gasland," about misinformation from the hydralic fracking industry.

Music by local band, Los Cabillitos de la Cancion, will start at 5 p.m. Robyn DiFalco, BEC's executive director, said the

BEC hosts Chico Car Free Day Oct. 6

A no-cars event! I received a press release from Mark Stemen, on behalf of the Butte Environmental Council, announcing the upcoming Chico Car Free Day. BEC is inviting everyone in Chico to participate in this event, which will take place from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, in downtown Chico. “[M]ultiple streets, behind City Hall, will be closed to automobile traffic to open up space for educational and fun-filled activities,” the press release said. “The idea behind Car Free Day is to reconsider urban transport with the prospect of sharing streets more efficiently,” it continued. “This day is an opportunity for us to take personal, positive and constructive measures to reduce greenhouse gases in our community as well as enjoy the company of our friends in a quiet stroll along the tree-lined streets of downtown Chico.” The event will be centered along Flume Street, between Fourth and Seventh streets. For more information, go to www.becnet.org or call 891-6424.

Code Blue update In more BEC-related news, Nani Teves, BEC’s water-outreach coordinator, sent me an email advising folks that the Delta water-education field trip BEC canceled in June due to excessively hot weather has been rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, from 8 a.m. (sharp!) to 5 p.m.

Hundreds of hands gathered tons of trash Saturday in Chico’s prized parks and along Lindo Channel, Little Chico Creek and Comanche Creek. The 29th annual cleanup is organized by the Butte Environmental Council, www.becnet.org

During the events, big containers are provided to help haul all the items away, BEC assistant director Becky Holden explained while standing near a row of blue recycling containers, each with a different label of what should go inside.

The commissioners also heard grant request presentations from a variety of local organizations and events. Grant requests were heard from kids fishing events in Chico, Oroville, Gridley, and two kids events in Paradise. Additional applicants included the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife foundation, Butte Environmental Council, Chico State Research Foundation, North Valley Community Foundation, Gaines & Associates, Paradise Bow Hunters, and Troop 2 Boy Scouts. Final grant approvals and amounts will be given out at the commission’s Feb. 6 meeting in Chico.

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.

Nani Teves says it’s not too late to do something about Gov. Jerry Brown’s new plan to send North State water south, and she and other local water activists have a plan of their own to inform residents on what’s at stake. Teves, water outreach coordinator for Butte Environmental Council, was referring in a recent interview to BEC’s Code Blue 2013 water outreach campaign, which kicked off on Feb. 5 with a free forum at Chico State called “Ethical Issues and Water: An Interfaith Dialogue.” The Code Blue series of no-cost, water-centric educational events—held “so that people are aware of what’s happening regarding local water, and are given the tools to do something about it”—will run throughout the year.

Included on the Code Blue schedule of free events: a talk titled Science and Politics of North State Water (May 1); an educational field trip (June 8) to the Bay Delta, under which two multibillion-dollar, 40-foot-diameter tunnels are planned to be built to send North State water south; and fall workshops on installing water-conserving gray-water and rainwater-catchment systems.

Harvest the rain Nani Teves, the Butte Environmental Council’s Code Blue water-outreach coordinator, reminded me that on Sunday, Nov. 10, from 10-11 a.m., BEC is hosting a free rainwater-harvesting workshop. “If you’ve ever wanted to put your roofs and gutters to work collecting rain for you, this event is a must,” says the BEC website (www.becnet.org) of this informative event. “Learn how to safely and sensibly collect and store water for use in your garden.”

workshop—which will also offer healthful, organic snacks—is being held at a private home; contact Teves at nanibay@hotmail.com or 891-6424 for more information and to register.

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.

Butte Environmental Council will host a scientific exploration of Big Chico Creek in a series of three field trips. The first outing will take place at the mouth of Big Chico Creek Sunday. Lucas Ross Merz of Sacramento River Preservation Trust and Jennifer Patten of Altacal Audubon Society will be the featured scientists.During the outings in April, May, and June participants will experience an upstream migration along Big Chico Creek; beginning at the confluence with the Sacramento River, through the valley and urban section, and ending with a hike to the forested spring headwaters. Each event will focus on the scientific wonders from two fields of study to deepen understanding and appreciation of the creek.The is a free event, however space is limited and participants need to register at www.becnet.org or call 891-6424.

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

CHICO — Water exports and the Sacramento Valley will be the topic of a discussion tonight, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Chico Branch Library, 1103 Sherman Ave. Guest presenters include: * Ashley Indrieri, executive director of the Family Water Alliance, in Maxwell, a coalition that focuses on private property rights, agriculture, and "a balance between man and nature." * Carol Perkins, water policy advocate for Butte Environmental Council, whose mission is "to protect and defend the land, air and water of Butte County and the surrounding region."

The event is part of Code Blue, a series organized by the Butte Environmental Council to generate discussion about water issues developing in Northern California.

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.