BEC's Mission is to protect and defend the land, air and water of Butte County and the surrounding region through action, advocacy and education.

Our monthly newsletter is designed to keep our community informed about local issues that impact our region's environmental quality and bring you opportunities to become involved.

In this month's issue:

• July 30th - the Chico Bicycle Music Festival returns for the 13th year!
• Urban Forest Revitalization Project comes to a close

• Trees PLEASE - Our new tree planting and education program!
• Thriving amid adversity -- Article by Neil Bajaj
• Get your Klean Kanteen gift with a membership

CBMF back in full swing - July 30th!!

Butte Environmental Council presents this annual free event of bicycle-powered music. Gather with us on July 30th starting at the downtown Chico Farmer's Market with our first musical performance with The Sun Followers. From there, we will lead the pedal-powered procession through downtown with a LIVE-ON-BIKE performance with Thunderlump and convene the festival just after NOON at the End of Normal (2500 Estes Road) for a whole day of pedal-powered music until 8pm. Be ready for live music, food, beverages, art, crazy bikes, and more! Pedal Press will be printing t-shirts during the show. Don't let the name mislead you, we are excited to see all the pedal-power in our community, regardless of the number of wheels! Join us on your pedal-powered transportation on July 30th!     

Stay tuned at the event webpage and on the Facebook event page. We are still accepting sponsor and vendor applications, see the event website or contact us at staff@becnet.org.

All-vehicle parking will be available at the End of Normal, see you there!

The Lineup: The Sun Followers, Thunderlump, Sweaty Manchego, Fox E Jeff, Tite Nauts, Sons of Jefferson, Roni Jean, Ants in my Eyes Johnson, Samaria, Viking Skate Country, XDS, Blu Egyptian

Vendors:  Pedal Press, SPUN Organic Cotton Candy, Chico Velo Bike Valet, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, LaRocca Vineyards and more being added daily! Click HERE to submit a vendor application

Special Thanks to our Sponsors: Klean Kanteen, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, LaRocca Vineyards, KZFR 90.1 Radio, Chico News & Review, Greenline Bicycles, Recology Butte Colusa, Chico Sunset Prints, Captain Killion Productions... more being added, click HERE to become a sponsor

• 7/9 - Monthly Citizen Creek Monitoring with The Stream Team - sign up to volunteer! (more info HERE)
• 7/26 - TEK Nature Walk at Verbena Fields Every last Tuesday each month from 4-6pm (more info HERE)
• Every Thursday - 9am-12pm - Help make local compost at Sol Sanctuary in Paradise - more info contact paradisecommunitycompost@gmail.com
• Every Friday - Volunteer for TEK wildtending at Verbena Fields from 9am-12pm (more info HERE)

View BEC's Community Events Calendar HERE. If you would like to promote your environmental-related event to the next newsletter or on the community calendar on our website, please email staff@becnet.org.

The Urban Forest Revitalization Project was put into action in spring 2020 and ran through spring 2022. The program goals were to expand the urban canopy in Chico by planting trees in target neighborhoods that were lacking shade as an effort to increase the health of the urban forest and therefore amplify the benefits we receive from a thriving urban canopy. 

There were a total of 4 community tree planting events that were held in the two-year span, plus an arbor day planting at a local elementary school and a community tree delivery day (without planting) in May 2020. Out of those 6 events, there were more than 150 volunteers who spent their free time giving back to the community and delivered and/or planted nearly 150 trees in Chico neighborhoods. Additionally, almost every Wednesday from Spring 2021 through Spring 2022, except during the peak heat of summer months, a handfull of regular volunteers plant 3-6 trees for residents and in park strips (street trees). These volunteers have put at least 100 more trees into the ground in Chico. Because of these volunteers and the efforts of the staff and interns of Bute Environmental Council, there are even more trees in the City of Trees and we help the City of Chico reach their project goal of 700 trees several months ahead of schedule!

As this program sunsets this summer, look for the presentation BEC and the other project partners will be giving to the Chico Parks and Playground Commission later in July. For more information on BEC's tree planting activities, visit www.becnet.org/urbanforest

On Tuesday, April 5, 2022 Oak Way Community Park received twelve new trees! Additionally, BEC is excited to announce that Parkview, Rosedale and Neal Dow Elementary Schools will be receiving, a total of fourteen, new trees in the month of May. Stay tuned for more tree planting events happening on Chico Unified School District (CUSD) campuses and Chico Area Recreation District (CARD) parks. 

Thank you to our partners The City of Chico, CUSD and CARD for helping make these events possible. 

Anyone is welcome to participate in this program, so please make sure you register for your in-class workshop by clicking the button below. If you would like to help be a part of this program, please sign up to be a tree-planting volunteer.

We are excited to inform the community that even MORE trees are coming to more schools and parks across the entire region, not just in Chico, so stay tuned!

This program has been made possible by the California ReLeaf Foundation with funding from the California Climate Investments Grant Project, which has been provided by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, administered by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) Urban and Community Forest Program. 

 Send your questions to steward@becnet.org

Amid megadroughts, frequent wildfires, and climate change - San Diego emerges with water sufficiency for now and beyond. They employed every possible resource and technology, gearing towards water sufficiency. For instance, any new construction utilizes low-flow toilets and showerheads. The grassy lawns have been replaced with water-efficient landscaping. The 82-mile irrigation canal in the U.S. was upgraded by lining it with concrete to help mitigate water loss to seepage. The farmers alleviated up to about 280,000 acre-feet of water using drip irrigation. The leaks and prompt repairs were detected using acoustic listening devices, which led to timely maintenance. 

Furthermore, A large quantity of wastewater is being recycled to drinking water standards. One of the most extensive state-of-the-art water purification facilities uses “toilet to tap” recycling through ultrafiltration and advanced oxidation to create 3 million gallons a day. They also house the largest desalination plant, converting seawater into fresh water in about two hours - producing 50 million gallons of potable water a day. However, the desalination plant comes with significant environmental problems, including killing marine life, larvae, and plankton. 

 According to Sandra Kerl, at the San Diego Water Authority. The city has enough water now and beyond until 2045. San Diego county has reduced residential water usage by 43 percent. 

https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/water/pdf/purewater/090128toilettap.pdf

https://www.sej.org/headlines/quiet-revolution-southwest-cities-learn-thrive-amid-drought

https://e360.yale.edu/features/a-quiet-revolution-southwest-cities-learn-to-thrive-amid-drought