Butte Environmental Council

06/05/2026

Groundwater is crucial to the survival of species that depend on it. However, a recent study by Environmental Science Advocates challenged the notion that our urban forests are reliant on groundwater. 🌳💧

Marty Dunlap, a public interest attorney and water advocate, argues that this groundbreaking research needs to be peer reviewed so that there aren’t mistakes being made in the exclusion of key species from GDE classification.

Keep an eye out on the BEC Community Calendar, located on our website, for local meetings and discussions on groundwater in the Vina Subbasin.

06/03/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who attended the 47th annual Endangered Species Faire! This year we returned to Cedar Grove and it couldn’t have been more magical! ✨

Swipe to see some of the amazing puppets created by local students during the Procession of the Species 🌳

Another thank you to Explore Butte County, Recology, Butte County Public Works, Forest Ranch Roasters, USFWS, Wildflower Open Classroom, Chico Area Flyfishers, Mountain Sports, Captain Killion Productions, Friends of Bidwell Park, Friends of Butte Creek, Results Radio, Bob FM for helping us continue to host this valuable free community event!

06/02/2026

Thank you to everyone who showed up to our Garden Workday event!

Four volunteers came to Oak Way Community Garden to help us clear out a garden plot and restore our native plant plot on Saturday.

Swipe to see the results so far! ✨

05/20/2026

Join us Saturday, May 30th for an Oak Way Community Garden Workday. 🌱 Choose between two volunteer opportunities: Community Garden Plot Restoration or Native Plant Garden Restoration.

Sign up using the bit.ly links below or visit the Link tree in our bio!

Project 1: Plot Restoration
🔗Link: bit.ly/GardenPlotRestoration
Description: Volunteers will remove vegetation and pull weeds to restore a 15x15 ft. green space at our community garden so that another gardener can use the plot.

Project 2: Pollinator Garden
🔗Link: bit.ly/NativePlantRestoration
Description: Volunteers will mulch the plot, trim plants, pull weeds, and label plants for future visitors to restore a native plant pollinator garden plot for the community.

Get your hands dirty and have some fun in the sun with the BEC Community!🌿

05/20/2026

05/08/2026

California Climate Action Corps (CCAC) is recruiting NOW! 🌳

In partnership with CCAC, BEC is seeking passionate individuals in Butte County (18+) who want to serve as California Climate Action Corps fellows for 11 months, leading climate action and volunteer engagement projects across Butte County. Fellows focus on urban greening, organic waste and edible food recovery and wildfire resiliency.

California Climate Action Corps fellows earn up to $45,550in living stipend, training support and money for school upon successful completion of 1,700 hours of service between September 21, 2026,and August 13, 2027.

💥Applications are open until July 31, 2026

🔗CAClimateActionCorps.com

05/08/2026

Why did the caterpillar cross Petersen Memorial Drive? To feast on the pipevine plant, abundant in Bidwell Park.

05/02/2026

05/02/2026

A branch fell off your oak last fall. You've been meaning to haul it to the curb. It's been on the ground for six months.

In that time, it became an apartment building.

Year one: Fungi colonize the exposed wood. You can see the first brackets forming on the bark — small, shelf-like growths that are breaking down the lignin and cellulose inside. The branch is getting softer.

By year two or three: Beetle larvae have tunneled into the softened wood. Their galleries — winding channels the width of a pencil lead — aerate the interior. Woodpeckers find the branch and drill into it to extract the larvae.

By year five: A red-backed salamander has moved into one of the beetle galleries. She lives in the damp, rotting wood and hunts pill bugs, mites, and springtails on the surface. The branch is now a hunting ground and a shelter.

By year ten: The branch is mostly soil. The fungi, the beetles, the salamander, the woodpecker — they converted a fallen limb into nutrients that are feeding the tree it fell from.

🌿 A different way to see the branch:

- A fallen branch is not debris — it's a building under construction
- If it's not blocking a path, leave it where it fell
- The fungi that colonize it aren't disease — they're decomposers doing their job
- One fallen branch can support more than thirty species over its lifetime

You almost hauled it to the curb. Thirty species are using it now. 🌿