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Battle Creek reports large recycling turnout, expands tree-planting grants and projects
Summary
Committee members reported results from a March recycling event and described multiple tree-planting grants and partnerships, including a 1,600-tree planting effort along Jackson Street and grants to plant 93 larger trees at the wastewater treatment property.
Members of the Sustainable BC Committee on April 28 recounted recent community recycling and tree-planting efforts and described grants that will fund additional plantings across the city.
Patty Hochmel, an environmental department employee for the City of Battle Creek, summarized a March 22 electronics and polystyrene recycling event, saying, “We ended up collecting 17,400 pounds of electronics and 1,130 pounds of styrofoam, and only oh, over 300 cars came through that day.” She said the event likely was one of the committee’s largest turnouts.
Hochmel and other members described a large planting effort tied to a grant along Jackson Street: city staff and volunteers planted about 1,600 trees for that grant and paired the effort with Earth Week volunteer cleanups. In addition, the private group Kelanova donated and planted 10 trees this year at Claude Evans Park.
Hochmel described recent grant awards and applications: the Battle Creek Community Foundation awarded funds from the Thelma Greer Tree Fund to purchase 10 additional trees for Claude Evans Park. The city and partners are also working with the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council on a “Forest to My Faucets” grant that will place 93 larger (seven-gallon) trees on the wastewater treatment plant property along the Kalamazoo River for erosion control and habitat; Hochmel said those plantings are expected in May or June.
Hochmel said the city applied for an urban-forestry grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and is waiting to hear back. Committee members praised the volunteer turnout and corporate support and discussed follow-up events such as birding walks, garlic-mustard pulls and community plantings tied to grants.
The committee encouraged continued volunteer engagement and staff follow-up to schedule public events and finalize grant logistics.
