Free community calendar highlights beauty of local watersheds

Greyson Steele, Battle Creek Enquirer
·3 min read

BATTLE CREEK — The beauty of nature is the focus of a new community calendar crafted by the Battle Creek Area Clean Water Partners.

The 2024 wall calendar is free to the community and features pictures from local photographers. Many of the featured photos for each month come from the annual Clean Water Partners photo contest, that allows neighbors to submit seasonal photos from within the Kalamazoo River and St. Joseph River watersheds.

Calendars are available at a variety of locations throughout Calhoun County, including city and township halls, Calhoun County buildings, Battle Creek and Lakeview schools, Bronson Battle Creek Hospital and the downtown Calhoun County Visitors Bureau Welcome Center. They are also available at a number of City of Battle Creek facilities, including city hall, 10 N. Division St., the police department, 34 N. Division St., and the department of public works, 150 S. Kendall St.

The calendar is also available as a PDF at battlecreekmi.gov/publicworks under the "Environmental Services" tab.

The beauty of nature is the focus of a new community calendar crafted by the Battle Creek Area Clean Water Partners, shown here.
The beauty of nature is the focus of a new community calendar crafted by the Battle Creek Area Clean Water Partners, shown here.

The Kalamazoo River and St. Joseph River are the two major watersheds within Calhoun County. The free community calendar "showcases the beauty within them and brings focus to groundwater, the source of our drinking water," officials said in a release. Residents can follow the simple tips outlined in the calendar to help protect the water from pollution sources, sustaining it for future generations.

The calendar also includes information about local recycling and cleanup events. Important dates include:

  • Kalamazoo River Watershed photo contest — Jan. 1-July 31

  • Rain barrel and composter sale — Jan. 8-March 29; pick up April 17, 4-6 p.m., Department of Public Works, 150 S. Kendall St.

  • Styrofoam No. 6 recycle collection — March 20, 4-6 p.m., Department of Public Works, 150 S. Kendall St.

  • Republic Services yard waste curbside pickup (within city limits) — April 8-Dec. 6

  • Earth Day Linear Path cleanup — April 22-28

  • Calhoun County household hazardous waste, appliances, and electronics collection — April 22, noon-5:30 p.m., Bailey Park (lot south of C.O. Brown Stadium), 1350 Capital Ave. NE

  • Scrap tire collection* (City of Battle Creek residents; *pending grant acceptance) — May 8, 4-6 p.m., Department of Public Works, 150 S. Kendall St.

  • Calhoun County appliances, electronics, and scrap tire collection* (Scrap Tire collection *pending grant acceptance) — May 13, noon-5:30 p.m., Ketchum Field, 1203 E. North St., Albion

  • Republic Services curbside spring cleanup (within city limits) — May 20-24

  • Calhoun County household hazardous waste collection — May 20, 2:30-5:30 p.m., Calhoun County Fairgrounds, 720 Fair St., Marshall

  • Electronics recycle collection (City of Battle Creek residents) — May 22, 4-6 p.m., Department of Public Works, 150 S. Kendall St.

  • Krazy for the Kazoo river cleanup/stewardship day — open registration Aug. 21-Oct. 4; late registration and tool/kit pickup Oct. 5, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Department of Public Works, 150 S. Kendall St.; cleanup event Oct. 5, 9-11 a.m.

  • Styrofoam No. 6 recycle collection — Sept. 4, 4-6 p.m., Department of Public Works, 150 S. Kendall St.

  • Republic Services curbside fall cleanup (within city limits) — Sept. 9-13

  • Calhoun County household hazardous waste collection — Sept. 9, 2:30-5:30 p.m., Calhoun County Fairgrounds, 720 Fair St., Marshall

  • Calhoun County household hazardous waste collection — Oct. 21, 2:30-5:30 p.m., Bailey Park (lot south of C.O. Brown Stadium), 1350 Capital Ave. NE

  • Fresh holiday tree curbside pickup (within city limits) — Dec. 26-Jan. 24, 2025

The Battle Creek Area Clean Water Partners are the City of Battle Creek, City of Springfield, Calhoun County Road Department, Calhoun County Water Resources Commission, townships of Bedford, Emmett, Leroy, Newton, and Pennfield, the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center, Kellogg Community College and Battle Creek area schools. The members have the common goal of protecting local waterways.

For more information, visit bcwater.org.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Free community calendar highlights beauty of local watersheds