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Chico Enterprise-RecordPosted:   03/13/2014 08:01:01 PM PDTCommunity members may help at the Oak Way Community Garden work day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, at 1400 W. Eighth St. Volunteers should bring gloves and drinking water. Cultivating Community North Valley and the Butte Environmental Council are hosting the work day. Information about this event and others scheduled for the future are available online at cultivatingcommunitynv.org.

Butte Environmental Council: 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Earth Day Brunch to benefit Endangered Species Faire. $25 advance, $30 at door. Tickets www.benet.org. 891-6424. Humboldt Community Garden, corner of Humboldt Road and El Monte in Chico.

Councilwoman Ann Schwab was concerned because the parcel in question is home to the Butte Environmental Council’s Humboldt Community Garden, which would have to move. As such, Schwab made a motion to accept the proposal with an amendment directing the city to help relocate the garden, if possible, which passed unanimously.

Opponents of a Wal-Mart “supercenter” store planned for Oroville have scored a partial victory with the California 3rd District Court of Appeal in their legal battle. The project is a relocated and expanded Wal-Mart Supercenter to replace an existing Wal-Mart of traditional dimension and retail offerings. In their legal action, Friends of Oroville and two individuals are challenging Oroville’s approval of an environmental impact report.

The appellate court agrees with two issues: whether the environmental impact report approved by the city inadequately analyzed the project’s greenhouse gas emissions and whether the new store might put too much traffic on Oroville Dam Boulevard, where the nearly 200,000-square-foot building, supermarket and garden center with its 24-hour retail and grocery services is to be located. “We reverse the judgment to the extent it denied plaintiffs’ petition for writ of mandate — and we remand this matter to the trial court to grant the petition,” the appellate panel says.

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.

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.

On a recent Saturday, three staffers with the Butte Environmental Council were demonstrating how to build a simple contraption to harvest the rain.

Illegal in California before 2012, rain barrels aren’t going to save the Delta Smelt, spring run salmon or next year’s almond crop. But they can irrigate gardens, reduce water bills and reduce loads on sewage plants. If adopted widely enough, the water saved becomes a lot more than a few drops in the proverbial bucket.